Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:43:47 +0100
From: Gymnopedies <gym@softhome.net>
Subject: Sexual Development 22

Copyright of this story is retained by the author and it should not be
reposted to any newsgroup or website without permission. Any form of
commercial use is strictly prohibited without the express permission of the
author. The author can be contacted at gym@softhome.net

The usual disclaimers apply: don't read if you are prohibited by location,
are under legal age, or if you are likely to be offended by explicit
descriptions of gay sex. The story is pure fiction and is not based on any
actual events.


Sexual Development: Chapter 22 - A Sleepover With Craig
by
Gymnopedies


It was Friday lunch time. Daniel made his way along the crowded school
corridors to Adam's room. He gave a knock on the open door and went
in. Adam was sitting at his desk sorting through piles of papers and
looking flustered, though he did manage to give a smile when he saw Daniel.

"I've brought our measuring sheets for this week," said Daniel, approaching
the desk and holding out the two A4 sheets of paper. He grimaced,
apologetically. "We haven't really managed as much as we should have this
week. We were about to measure each other last night when Jason got ill."

"Don't worry about it," said Adam. "I think this week has been a bit of a
write-off for some people. This bug is really doing the rounds."

"Yeah, there were quite a few missing at registration this morning,"
replied Daniel. Simon McBride had been off again, and Daniel smiled
inwardly at the thought that maybe Simon had caught this thing - it
couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

"I called in and saw Ben and Jason last night," said Adam. "I think Ben had
got the worst out of the way, but Jason was just getting started. I expect
he had a rough night."

"Yeah. I rang this morning," said Daniel. "Jason was in bed, but his mum
said that he was up all night going to the loo."

"It's not very pleasant," said Adam. "How are you feeling? No signs that
you might be picking it up, I hope. Jason told me he was at your house when
he started throwing up."

"No, I'm fine," said Daniel. "Up to now anyway." He gave a grin. "Mum went
into super-cleaner mode after we got back from taking Jason home. She spent
most of the evening wearing rubber gloves and spraying disinfectant
everywhere. She really went to town on the bathroom and my bedroom. She
even changed the sheets on my bed. I told her Jason never touched the
sheets, but she changed 'em anyway. Then she made me get in the shower. I
thought she was going to start scrubbing me like she'd scrubbed the
bathroom."

Adam laughed. "Now's there's an interesting image: you in the shower and
your mother going at you with a scrubbing brush."

"It's not funny," said Daniel. "I half expected her to do that."

"Well, the shower and changing the sheets were probably overkill," said
Adam. "But better that than both of you catching this thing."

"I suppose."

Adam sighed. "Well, I'd better get on. I've only got a couple of hours
before I have to leave for the conference, and I've still loads of things
to do."

"I'll leave you to it then," said Daniel. He turned to go, hesitated, and
then turned back. "I was wondering about tonight," he said.

"Oh?"

"This sleepover at your house. Me and Jason were supposed to be staying
over with Craig."

"Yes, I know."

"Well, Jason's not going to be able to come now, so I was wondering what I
should do. Should I still go on my own?"

"There's no reason why not," said Adam. "Unless you don't want to. I
mentioned to Craig about Jason being ill, so he won't be expecting him."

"So it's OK for just me to go?"

"Yes, of course it is," laughed Adam. "Why would it not be?"

"I dunno," said Daniel. "OK, I guess I'll go."

Adam nodded. "Don't worry. I'm sure you and Craig will have a great time
together."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. He felt a little guilty at the thought of going
without Jason, but he knew that Adam was right; spending time with Craig
was sure to be fun.



Craig had arranged to pick Daniel up at some time around six. Daniel had
had his tea and packed a small bag with a pair of clean under-shorts, some
clean socks, and a few essential toiletries. As he waited for Craig to
arrive, he looked at the bag and sighed to himself. He was starting to have
second thoughts about this proposed sleepover. Even though he was still
looking forward to it, he couldn't help wishing that Jason could be
there. He had even given Jason a quick call when he'd arrived home from
school, in the hope that perhaps the boy had made a lightening recovery and
would be able to go after all. However, though Jason seemed to be feeling a
little better, he was still far from being properly over his ordeal. As
well as missing Jason, Daniel was still struggling with the dilemma of what
he should do about the situation with Dean. The previous day he had been
all set to tell Jason about it, but now he was wondering if perhaps this
wasn't such a good idea after all. Suppose Jason took the news badly and
decided that that was it, their friendship was over? Daniel felt physically
sick at the thought that this might happen. But on the other side of the
coin, Daniel felt he needed something more than simple friendship, and the
things he had done with Dean had fulfilled part of that need. Dean was
offering something that Jason simply wasn't willing or able to give. The
boy gave another sigh. What was he going to do?

Craig arrived just after six. He pulled the car up outside the house and
honked on the horn. Daniel grabbed his bag and hurried out. Much to the
boy's embarrassment, his mother insisted on coming out with him to see him
off.

Craig got out of the car and leaned over it with his elbows on the roof, as
Daniel and his mother approached. "Hi Daniel. Hi Mrs. Marshall."

"Hello, Craig," said Daniel's mother, giving the older teen a smile. "Are
you sure that you want to risk being around Daniel, what with this bug
going around? You know Jason's come down with it? I've been expecting
Daniel to start with it any time now, given the amount of time those two
spend together."

"Don't worry," laughed Craig. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Well, if he does start to feel unwell, give me a call and I'll come
straight round and pick him up."

Daniel scowled at his mother, annoyed that she was talking about him as
though he weren't even there. "I'll be OK, Mum," he said, allowing his
irritation to show in his voice.

His mother gave him a searching look and then nodded. "I hope so." She
glanced down at the bag that the boy held in his hand. "Have you got your
toothbrush?"

"Yes, Mum."

"And some clean underwear?"

"Yes, Mum," Daniel replied, through gritted teeth. "You want to check?" He
held up the bag.

"I was just asking," said the woman, unfazed by her son's truculent
tone. "Well, you boys have a good time."

"We will," said Craig. He climbed back into the car.

Daniel quickly got into the passenger side before his mother thought to
embarrass him further by giving him a kiss. Once he had the car door safely
closed he gave her a rather forced smile and a wave.

Craig chuckled softly as the car pulled away.  "Don't worry, my mum is just
the same."

Daniel sighed. "Sometimes she can be really cool. Then other times she
treats me like I'm about five years old."

"I think all mothers are like that," said Craig.

It was only a short drive to Adam's house. Craig pulled the car into the
garage and closed the door from the inside, before leading the way through
the connecting door into the kitchen. "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah."

"OK. Well there's a pizza in the fridge if you want something later." He
opened the fridge and took out a bottle of lemonade and poured two large
glasses. "Let's go through to the lounge."

They went through into the small side-lounge, where Craig, Daniel, and
Jason had sat and chatted during their previous visit. The fire was already
lit, giving the room a cosy, welcoming feel. Craig sat down on the sofa,
leaving room for Daniel to sit next to him. "So, what would you like to
do?"

Daniel shrugged. "I dunno."

"You want to play some games?"

"Yeah, OK."

"Great." Craig placed his drink on the nearby table and squatted down to
pull open the doors of a cabinet that contained a flat-screen TV. Below the
TV was a pullout shelf that held a Playstation 3. He turned on the game
console and inserted a disk. "You'll probably be best sitting on the
floor," he said, taking one of the controllers himself and holding the
other one out for Daniel. Daniel shuffled down from the sofa and made
himself comfortable on the floor next to Craig.

They started off with an adventure type game, battling monsters. This was
the first time that Daniel had used a Playstation 3, so it took him a
little while to get the hang of it, but once he did, he was able to give a
reasonable account of himself. After a while they changed to a fighting
game. Daniel cringed and laughed as a blow from Craig's character caught
his fighter on the side of the head and sent him sprawling; Jason would
have loved this game.

It was as though thinking about Jason had flicked on a switch in Daniel's
brain. Suddenly he completely lost interest in the game and he was once
more back in the real world, worrying about his real world problems. What
was he going to tell Jason? Maybe it would be best to say nothing after
all. If Jason didn't find out about Daniel and Dean then he couldn't get
upset over it. And if Daniel didn't say anything about it, then there
there's was not much chance of Jason finding out, since Dean wasn't the
sort to go round telling tales. That way, everyone could be happy. Though
suppose Jason did find out? Discovering that Daniel had kept it a secret
from him, and had lied to him and gone behind his back would probably
really upset him. Actually, there was no 'probably' about it. Jason would
be furious. And if Jason were to start with this karate or kickboxing he'd
be spending a lot of time with Dean. Suppose Dean accidentally let
something slip? Then the shit would really hit the fan. So maybe it would
be best to tell Jason after all. Daniel sighed to himself. He was going
around in circles.

"What's the matter, are you bored with this one?" asked Craig, as Daniel
took yet another beating.

"I guess I'm not really in the mood for games," Daniel admitted.

"No problem." With an understanding smile, Craig leaned forwards and
switched off the console. "How about half an hour or so in the hot tub?"

"OK."

They moved over to room that contained the hot tub, and while Craig set the
controls of the tub, turning on the lights and the foaming water-jets,
Daniel began to take off his clothes. The younger boy stripped down to his
shorts and then paused, feeling self-conscious. Even though Craig had
already seen him naked on a couple of previous occasions, he still felt a
little shy about stripping completely in front of the older teen.

If Craig noticed Daniel's hesitancy, he didn't show it. He quickly pulled
off his own clothing and laid it on a wooden bench beside the wall. He
stripped off his shorts, stretched and then waited while Daniel removed his
own final garment, at which point he openly looked the youngster up and
down, a grin on his face.

"Don't look at me like that," Daniel laughed, feeling himself blushing. He
covered his groin with one hand, turning a little to one side.

Craig gave an amused shake of his head. "Come on, let's get in. Then you
won't need to worry about me looking at you." He put his arm around the boy
and led him across to the tub.

Daniel lowered himself into the water and lay back against the smooth
plastic side of the tub. He was immediately aware of the gentle, massaging
effects of the jets of water and the light tingling of the bubbles running
up his skin. He gave a contented sigh.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Craig agreed as he took the seat next to the
younger boy.

Daniel closed his eyes as he let his body relax and tried to forget about
his problems, at least for a short while. However, he couldn't help
thinking about the last time he'd been in this tub, and how Jason had
shrieked with laughter as Craig had wrestled with him and tickled him under
the water. It seemed that in one way or another, everything always came
back to Jason.

Apparently unaware of Daniel's inner turmoil, Craig filled the silence with
inconsequential chatter, telling Daniel about the college course that he
was taking; about how he and Adam had gone golfing at the request of one of
Adam's medical friends, and how the friend had got annoyed when neither
Adam nor Craig would take the game seriously; about how Craig's parents had
gone on holiday to Egypt, even though his mother hated to fly and his
father wouldn't touch foreign food. Daniel listened with half an ear,
letting the words wash over him and not taking very much notice.

After a while - Daniel had completely lost track of time - Craig suggested
that they should get out of the tub before they got too wrinkly. He climbed
out himself, and then held out his hand to steady Daniel and make sure that
the boy didn't slip on the tiled floor. The air of the room felt cool after
the warmth of the water, and Daniel was glad of the thick, soft towel that
Craig draped around his shoulders. They dried themselves briskly and Daniel
was reaching for his shorts when Craig stopped him.

"There's no point in getting dressed again," said the older teen. "Unless
you want to." He reached up to a shelf and pulled down a thick, white
bathrobe which he held open. "Here, put this on."

Daniel slid his arms into the sleeves and pulled the garment closed at the
front, fastening it with the belt. The robe felt huge, almost completely
engulfing him, and it was even thicker and softer than the towel he had
just used to dry himself. He found himself smiling as he snuggled into it.

"Hey, so you can smile," said Craig, brightly as he pulled on a robe of his
own. "I was starting to think that you didn't want to be here. You've had a
face like a slapped arse for the past half hour."

"Sorry," said Daniel. It seemed that his mood hadn't gone unnoticed after
all.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong or are you going to carry on
being miserable?"

"It's nothing," said Daniel, lowering his eyes so that he wouldn't have to
meet the older teen's gaze.

"Sure it's nothing," said Craig. "Come on, Daniel, talk to me. So far
tonight you've been about as much fun as a septic spot."

Daniel looked up feeling suddenly hurt by Craig's comment. "I've just got
things that I need to think about. OK?" he said defensively.

"Ah, so it isn't 'nothing'; there is something worrying you," said Craig,
his smile back in place. He put a friendly arm around the boy's
shoulders. "Come on. Let's go back through to the lounge."

Back in the small lounge, Craig turned out the light so that the room was
lit only by the dancing flames of the gas fire. He settled down on the
floor, snuggling back against a large bean bag.

Daniel sat down on the sofa, feeling uncomfortable. He'd expected that
Craig would ask him what he was worrying about, but the nineteen-year-old
merely sat staring into the fire, a relaxed, contented expression on his
face.

The minutes ticked by and Craig continued to stare straight into the
fire. Daniel watched Craig's face, wondering whether or not he should
confide in the older teen. Craig already knew how Daniel felt about Jason,
but didn't know anything about what had been going on with Dean, and the
boy wasn't sure that he wanted to tell anyone what had happened during that
last session at Dean's house. On the other hand, if there was anyone who
would understand how Daniel was feeling, it was probably Craig. Could it
hurt to tell him everything? Maybe then, Craig would be able to tell Daniel
how he could sort things out. He reached a decision. "I don't know what I
should do," he said, his voice sounding small.

Craig slowly turned his head until he was looking at the younger boy. He
smiled gently. Then he shuffled sideways to make room against the beanbag
and held out his arm, inviting Daniel to join him on the floor. Daniel
hesitated for just a moment, before getting off the sofa and dropping down
beside Craig. Craig's arm went around his shoulders, pulling him
close. Daniel settled with his cheek against Craig's soft, robe-covered
shoulder.

Daniel immediately felt better. Having Craig's arm around him made him feel
like he was being both comforted and protected at the same time. He
snuggled in closer. It was strange how, even though he had only known Craig
a few short weeks, he felt so comfortable with him. He felt at this point
as though he could tell Craig anything and the nineteen-year-old wouldn't
judge him in anyway, but would listen and understand, and then tell him how
to solve all of his problems.

Several more minutes passed in silence. Then Daniel began to speak, his
voice soft and uncertain as he tried to find the words to explain how he
was feeling. He told Craig how Jason seemed, outwardly at least, to have
accepted his friend's homosexuality, even to the point of trying too hard
to show that he wasn't bothered by it. He tried to explain his feelings for
Jason and how he didn't think Jason would ever be able to return those
feelings in the way that Daniel wanted. Then he told how Dean had come into
the picture. He felt a little guilty about revealing to Craig that Dean was
gay, but he knew that Craig could be trusted to keep this to himself. He
haltingly told of what had happened during his last meeting with Dean,
feeling his face heat up as he told how the two of them had played 'doctor'
and then how Dean had given him his first blow-job. He finished by
struggling to explain that by messing around with Dean he felt that he had
in some way betrayed Jason, and that he didn't know what to do about
it. Should he tell Jason about Dean or should he keep quiet? Should he
avoid doing anything else with Dean, or should he carry on playing around
with Dean and forget about any chance of a closer relationship with Jason?

Having finished his explanations and got all of his worries off his chest,
Daniel felt immediately better. He lay pressed up against Craig, waiting
for the older teen to utter words of wisdom that would provide an easy
solution to making everything work out alright. "So, what should I do?"
Daniel prompted, when the expected words of wisdom didn't appear to be
forthcoming.

"What do you think you should do?" Craig asked, returning the question.

Daniel turned his head to look up at Craig. "I thought you were going to
help me work it out."

Craig smiled, almost sadly and shook his head. "I can help you work it
out. But I can't tell you what to do. You have to decide that for
yourself."

Daniel felt a bitter stab of disappointment as the optimism that he had
been feeling a moment ago quickly evaporated. He'd just poured his heart
out to Craig and it appeared that it had all been for nothing. He was still
no nearer to sorting out his problems.

Craig momentarily tightened his hold on the boy, hugging Daniel to him. He
sighed. "Let's think this through properly. The first thing that you have
to decide is what you really want. You've told me how you feel about Jason,
but you haven't said anything about how you feel about Dean."

"Dean's cool," said Daniel. "I like him."

"OK, so we know that he's cool, we know that he's cute, and we know that he
gives a great blow-job. But is there anything else? Do you feel any sort of
emotional connection with him?"

Daniel thought about the question, trying not to squirm at the casual way
that Craig had referred to Dean sucking him off. He really liked Dean -
there was nothing there not to like. But he knew that he didn't really feel
any of the same things for Dean that he felt for Jason. "Dean's my friend,"
he said. "But with Jason it's different. It's like Jason is more than a
friend. I dunno. I can't explain it."

Craig chucked softly. "I think I know what you mean."

"But Jason's not gay," said Daniel, sadly. "I want him to feel the same way
about me as I feel about him. But he can't if he's not gay."

"Well, I don't know about Jason being gay, but I do know that you're very
important to him," said Craig. "We both know that Jason isn't anything like
as tough as he likes to pretend. Sometimes he lets his guard slip and the
real Jason shows through. He's cares about you a lot, Daniel. You've said
yourself that he's trying too hard to accept that you are gay. Doesn't that
tell you something? He's determined that gay or not, he's not going to lose
you. Of course, that doesn't mean that he'll ever be able to give you
everything that you want, but it does make him a pretty special
friend. You're really lucky to have a friend like that."

"So you're saying that I should back off from Dean?"

"No, I'm not saying that at all. Only you can decide that. Both Jason and
Dean give you something different. It could be that you can have a
relationship with them both. However, and this is only my opinion, I think
that might be expecting a bit too much from Jason. He might not love you in
exactly the way that you want him to, but he does love you, that much I am
certain of. If you keep playing around with Dean you're going to really
have your work cut out convincing Jason that he hasn't been sidelined."
Craig gave a shrug. "Of course, as I said, that's just my opinion. I could
be wrong. You know Jason much better than I do."

Daniel knew that Craig was right. If he were to carry on with Dean, Jason
was going to feel left out. Playing around with Dean could eventually cost
him his friendship with Jason. Daniel realised that all of the complicated
emotions that he was trying to fight through could be boiled down to a
simple question: which was more important, sex with Dean, or his friendship
with Jason? It was no contest. "I guess I need to cool things with Dean."

"That might be for the best. For now, anyway. At least until you know
exactly where you're going with Jason."

Daniel stared into the fire. He hoped Dean wouldn't be too upset about
holding off with the sex stuff. Dean was cool; he'd understand. However,
that did still leave one problem unsolved. "So do I tell Jason about Dean?"

Craig was quiet for a moment before answering. "Try asking yourself a
different question," he said. "If things had been the other way around,
would you want Jason to tell you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"It would be better coming from you than risk having him find out some
other way. Talk to him properly. Tell him the things that you've told
me. Tell him how you feel about him and how important your friendship is to
you."

"He won't like me saying stuff like that. Jason doesn't go in for all that
mushy stuff."

"You might be surprised. And at least when you've been honest with him, you
can stop feeling guilty about keeping secrets from him."

"Yeah." Daniel nodded his head. Things didn't seem anything like as
complicated anymore. It was now pretty clear what he needed to do, even if
he was still a little worried about how Jason might react.

"So, do you feel a little happier now?" asked Craig.

"A bit."

"So you're going to stop worrying and let me see the 'happy' Daniel?"

"I'll try."

"Good." Craig gave the boy another hug. "Now, playing the 'Agony Uncle' has
given me an appetite. How about that pizza?"

"Yeah, OK." Daniel realised that he too was now getting a little hungry.

"Great. You like pepperoni?"

"Sure."

"OK. You stay here, I'll go put it in the oven. Also, I'll bring us a
couple of beers back. Adam won't mind as long as we only have one each, and
I think we've earned it."

While Craig went to sort out the pizza, Daniel sat and stared into the
fire. His talk with Craig had really helped him get things straight in his
head and, as a result, he felt better than he had in several days. He still
had to face the daunting task of talking to both Dean and Jason, but that
was something for another day. Right now, he decided, he was going to enjoy
his time with Craig.

When Craig returned he was carrying a plate containing a large pepperoni
pizza that had been cut into slices. He had two small bottles of beer in
his other hand and a roll of kitchen paper under his arm. He grinned as he
set down the plate and handed Daniel a bottle before lowering himself to
the floor. "I love pizza, but it can get a bit messy. I brought this for
you to wipe your sticky fingers on." He tore off several sheets of the
kitchen paper for Daniel and some for himself.

The beer was cold and the pizza was hot, and Daniel soon found himself
forgetting about all of his problems as he chatted and laughed with
Craig. The young teen finished off his last slice of pizza, wiped his hands
and lay back against the bean-bag, feeling totally relaxed and
contented. "I nearly didn't come tonight," he said.

"Oh, why not?" ask Craig.

Daniel shrugged. "When Jason got ill, I guess I felt a bit nervous coming
on my own."

A wide grin split Craig's face. "You were nervous about coming here on your
own? Did you think I was going to molest you or something? He leaned
towards the boy, leering as he spread his fingers, moving them towards
Daniel's chest. Then he suddenly stopped and frowned. He turned his hands
and looked at his finger tips. "Damn. You can't molest anyone after eating
pizza, especially when they're wearing a white bathrobe. It leaves too much
evidence." He sighed. "Oh well, maybe some other time."

Daniel giggled. He knew that Craig was only joking. The older teen might
flirt outrageously, but flirting was as far as it would go. It was as
though Daniel knew this instinctively, and he realised that it was one of
the reasons that he felt so comfortable with Craig. Craig was a tactile
person; a hug, a comforting arm around the shoulders, even holding hands,
these were all natural expressions of friendship to the
nineteen-year-old. But that's all it was: friendship, simple and
straightforward. Somehow, Daniel knew that he could trust Craig completely
never to abuse or take advantage of their friendship and he felt a warmth
and affection towards the older boy that he had rarely felt for anyone
before. He snuggled closer, laying his head on Craig's shoulder.

"Now that's not a reaction I would expect from someone who's just come so
close to being horribly molested." Craig drained his bottle and put it
aside with a soft sigh. He relaxed, letting his head fall to the side to
rest against Daniel's.

The two teens stayed like this for a long time. Daniel was comfortable and
warm, and he could feel himself getting sleepy. He realised that his eyes
were shut and opened them quickly, rousing himself.

Craig must have picked up on this, as he too stretched and yawned. "We'd
better take this stuff away and wash our hands," he suggested. "Then it
might be an idea to think about bed; it's getting late." He got to his
feet, scooping up the empty plate and bottles. Daniel also got up, picking
up the roll of kitchen paper.

Craig led the way through into the kitchen and quickly washed the plate and
then rinsed his hands under the tap. He stood back for Daniel to wash his
hands. "So what do you want to do about sleeping?"

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked as he dried his hands on a towel.

"Well, you can either sleep in one of the guest rooms upstairs, or..."
Craig paused, a twinkle in his eyes. "Or we could both sleep down here, in
the lounge."

"You mean sleep on the sofa?"

Craig shook his head, laughing. "No, I don't think that would be very
comfortable. What we could do is grab loads of duvets and pillows from the
bedrooms upstairs and bring them down in front of the fire. It all depends
on whether you want to sleep in a proper bed or whether you want to do
something that's a bit more fun."

"I dunno. What do you want to do?"

"I'm asking you. You're the guest, so you get to decide."

"Erm... I guess we can sleep down here, if that's going to be OK."

Craig nodded happily. "Yeah, it'll be great. Trust me. The best thing is
that if we sleep down here we'll be together. I hate sleeping on my
own. Unless you snore. You don't snore do you?"

"Uh? I don't know. I don't think so." Daniel chewed his lip, wondering if
he'd made the right decision.

However, it soon became clear that Craig had been right in saying that
sleeping downstairs would be more fun. The two teens moved around the upper
floor, raiding bedrooms and cupboards for duvets and pillows and struggling
to carry their burdens down to the lounge.

"Just throw them down," Craig laughed, as Daniel approached the top of the
stairs, trying to keep hold of the two large duvets that he was
carrying. "If you try to carry them down, you'll break your neck."

Eventually, Craig decided that they had what they needed. Though in
Daniel's opinion they had far more than any two people could possibly
need. They had brought down six duvets and goodness knows how many
pillows. They had pushed the furniture back to make room, spread two of the
duvets out on the floor and more or less piled everything else on top. It
wasn't so much a bed as an untidy nest.

"Perfect," said Craig, happily.

"Yeah, but how do we sleep in it?" Daniel eyed the pile, dubiously.

"Easy. You just climb in, cover yourself up and shuffle around until you
get comfortable. You ready?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

Craig turned down the fire until it was just a red glow and turn off the
light, which they had turned on whilst building their 'bed'. Then, in the
dim glow from the fire, he shed his bathrobe and climbed naked into the
pile of duvets.

Daniel hesitated a moment, wondering whether he should retrieve his clean
shorts, which were in still in his bag. His bag was in one of the upstairs
bathrooms; at Craig's suggestion, he had used the loo and brushed his teeth
while they had been upstairs collecting the duvets. Would Craig think him a
wimp if he went to get his shorts? Probably not. But then, was sleeping
naked really such a big deal? The pile on the floor was probably big enough
to swallow up at least four people, so it wasn't as though he and Craig
would be pressed up together. Feeling a little self-conscious, he slipped
off his own robe and quickly burrowed down into the duvets.

The makeshift bed turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. In fact, it
was extremely comfortable. The duvets were soft and warm, and after a
little wriggling around, Daniel had things just how he wanted them. He
pulled a couple of pillows under his head and settled down happily.

"You comfortable?" asked Craig.

"Yeah."

"I told you it would be."

"Have you done this before?"

"A couple of times," said Craig. "When Adam's had to go off somewhere or
other and I've been left on my own. I like this room. It always feels so
cosy. This house is so big, especially when you're on your own."

"Why didn't you have someone stay with you those other times?"

There was a pause before Craig answered. "I could have done. I guess
couldn't think of anyone."

This answer puzzled Daniel a little. He was sure that someone as open and
outgoing as Craig must have loads of friends. Surely he could have found
someone to sleepover with him. He opened his mouth to ask about this, but
then thought better of it. It wasn't any of his business. "OK," he said,
eventually.

"You ready to go to sleep?"

"Yeah, I think so," Daniel replied. He was feeling sleepy.

"Alright. Night, Daniel."

"Good night."


Daniel slowly worked his way up from sleep to wakefulness. It took a big
effort, since he was warm and comfortable. Eventually he managed to force
himself to open his eyes and, yawning, he pushed one of the duvets aside
and propped himself up on his elbows. Due to the way that the duvets were
piled up, and the dimness of the light filtering through the closed
curtains, it took him a moment to realise that he was alone; Craig was not
there. This, he realised, was probably a good thing, since he had both an
urgent need to pee and an aching boner. Not the best combination when you
are sleeping naked at someone else's house. The bathrobe that he had been
wearing the previous evening was over on the sofa. Glancing over at the
door and, hoping that Craig wouldn't appear before he managed to cover
himself, he quickly crawled out of the bedclothes and made a dash for the
robe. However, just as he reached the robe, the lounge door opened. Daniel
turned his back and quickly slipped his arms into the sleeves, pulling the
garment closed at the front and fastening it with the belt. Only then did
he turn around.

Craig stood in the doorway wearing just a pair of shorts. He was smiling
brightly. "I wondered if you were up and about yet. Did you sleep well?"

"Erm, yeah," Daniel replied, a little flustered at his narrow escape.

"Are you feeling OK? You look a bit flushed."

Daniel nodded, glancing down at himself and feeling relieved that the
thickness of the bathrobe covered any trace of a bulge from his erection.

"You coming through for some breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure. But can I use the loo first?"

Craig nodded. "You know where it is. I'll be in the kitchen."

Daniel used the downstairs toilet to empty his bladder. His erection had
just about subsided and he smiled to himself at how close Craig had come to
catching him with a boner. That would have been so embarrassing. He quickly
washed his hands and headed through to the kitchen.

The kitchen table was already set with bowls, glasses, packets of cereal
and jugs of milk and orange juice. "Help yourself. Is juice OK or would you
prefer coffee?" asked Craig, who was already tucking into cereal.

"Juice is fine," said Daniel, joining his friend at the table.

As they ate, Craig asked Daniel what he wanted to do today. The younger
teen wasn't expected home until early evening, so the two of them had
almost the full day together. Daniel said that he was happy to go along
with anything that Craig had in mind.

After they had finished eating, they put the dirty dishes into the sink,
and Craig suggested that they should take all the duvets and pillows back
upstairs, and then Daniel could use the bathroom upstairs to get a
shower. This was fine with Daniel, since his bag containing his toiletries
and clean shorts was already up in the bathroom.

Returning the duvets and pillows to where they had come from turned out to
be a much bigger task than bringing them down. The two teens loaded
themselves up with as much as they could carry and struggled up the stairs,
Daniel in front and Craig following. Several times, Daniel stumbled as he
stepped on a corner of one of the duvets that he was carrying, causing
Craig to bump into him. By the time they got to the top of the stairs, both
of them were laughing so hard that they could hardly walk. Daniel managed
to make it into the main bedroom before once more stepping on the dangling
duvet and pitching forwards, face first onto the bed. Craig, who couldn't
see where he was going for his own burden, ended up dumping the whole lot
on top of Daniel. There was great hilarity as Craig tried to dig Daniel out
of the pile of bedclothes, then lost his balance and fell forwards on top
of the younger boy. This then turned into an impromptu wrestling match as
the two of them rolled over each other onto the pile of duvets, which were
by now mostly on the floor. Daniel shrieked with laughter as Craig began to
tickle him, the older teen's hands finding his ribs, first through the
thick bathrobe and then inside the robe on his bare skin. Daniel fought
back, trying to tickle Craig, but unable to get passed the
nineteen-year-old's defences. By the time Craig let up, Daniel's robe had
fallen completely open, leaving his entire front exposed. The younger boy
lay back, panting, pinned down on the floor by the older teen's greater
weight and strength.

"Are you sorry?" Craig demanded.

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry forcing me to tickle you." Craig emphasised his words with another
attack.

"No! I mean, yes!" Daniel laughed, squirming to try to escape the fingers
that grabbed at his bare sides. "I'm sorry. Please stop," he begged.

"Alright, I think you've suffered enough," Craig grinned. He shifted his
weight, allowing Daniel to wriggle out from beneath him. "Go and get your
shower while I tidy up in here."

Daniel struggled to his feet, once more fastening the robe. "Are you sure
you don't want me to help you tidy up first?" There seemed to be duvets and
pillows everywhere.

"No, you go ahead. Unless you want me to come and wash your back for you,"
said Craig, laughing.

Daniel giggled. "No I think I can manage." He turned to go and then jumped
quickly aside, narrowly managing to avoid Craig's swipe at his backside.

By the time Daniel had showered and dressed, Craig had managed to get all
of the bedclothes put back where they belonged. Craig then left Daniel
playing video games while he went to take his own shower.

The teens spent most of the morning playing games, interrupted only by a
few bouts of playful jostling as they accused each other of cheating. When
lunchtime arrived, Craig suggested that they go out and get something to
eat, and he took Daniel to a café at a nearby shopping centre. After they
had eaten, they spent a while browsing the shops, looking at clothes and
games. Craig bought a new jacket and a game and a couple DVDs. He also
insisted on buying a shirt for Daniel, brushing aside the younger boy's
protests. Then it was back to the house where they spent the rest of the
afternoon sitting side by side on the sofa watching one of the DVDs.

All too soon it was time to go home. Daniel reluctantly gathered his things
together and put them into his bag. Today had been like living in a
completely separate world, with no pressures or worries; he had been able
to forget about everything and just relax and have a good time. Now it was
time to go back to reality. He sat silently in the car as Craig drove him
back to his own house. Craig pulled up outside of the house and the two of
them just sat there.

"It'll all work out alright, you know," said Craig, eventually breaking the
silence. He reached over and took Daniel's hand in his own and gave it a
squeeze.

"Yeah, I guess."

Craig gave a gentle smile. "Give me call and let me know how you get on."

"Yeah. I'll go and see both Dean and Jason tomorrow. I'll give you a ring
tomorrow night."

"You've got my mobile number?"

Daniel nodded and patted his pocket where he had the number, written on a
piece of paper.

"Alright. Good luck."

"Thanks, Craig." Daniel climbed out of the car and then bent and looked
back inside, through the open door. "Thanks for everything. I've had a
great time. Thanks for the shirt. And thanks for listening to me."

"Thanks for coming over, Daniel. I've had a terrific time as well, and we
can do it again any time you like."

Daniel grinned and nodded again. "OK. I guess I'd better go. Thanks again."
He pushed the car door closed and gave Craig a wave. Craig returned the
wave, smiled, raised his hand to his ear in a telephone sign and mouthed
the words 'call me'. Then he started the car and pulled away.

Daniel watched the car disappear down the street. Then he sighed softly and
turned towards the house. "Oh well," he murmured to himself. "Back to the
real world."

**********

The story continues in Chapter 23: Breaking The News

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