Twelve years ago
The roar of the pub crashed into the deserted street in Leicester as Liam McRae and his best mate, Rory Stone, stumbled out the doors. Rory grabbed the wrought-iron pole of a nearby streetlight, then swung around it with a whoop, pumping his fist in the air. With a laugh Liam dragged him down and slung his arm around his friend’s broad shoulders. “Get yer stupid arse down from there. Last thing I want is my best winger breaking his leg.”
Rory laughed and spun away, then thumped Liam on the back while jumping around him. “We beat the fuck out of De Montfort!”
Remembering the final game-winning try of the rugby match, which Rory had scored with Liam’s help, made a burst of pride explode in Liam’s chest. He picked his friend up and swung him around, then stumbled and fell against the side of the wall before dropping Rory. “We sure as fuck did.”
Shaking his head, Liam marveled at how greatly his life had changed since he’d left home to go to the University of Leicester. The biggest change of all, or should he say the catalyst for this change, had been his best mate, Rory. The other man was brash, fearless, and charming enough that everyone pretty much let him get away with anything. It helped that Rory’s father was a famous rock star and his mother was a prima ballerina. Liam wasn’t as worldly as the London-born-and-raised Rory. Unlike his friend, Liam had grown up in a tiny, insular village with conservative Catholic parents. To say his knowledge of the world had been limited before he arrived at Leicester was an understatement.
Then he’d met Rory, and they hit it off instantly, despite their differences. Rory was surprisingly down-to-earth, and it still shocked Liam every time he met Rory’s dad, who was equally cool. It was at a party hosted by Rory’s dad at a club in London that Liam had fucked his first girl in the arse on the rooftop of the club, a memory he savored. Like any typical twenty-year-old guys, they were horny as hell, and both had gone through a string of willing women. Being two stars of their university rugby team had certainly helped their ability to get laid.
Their friendship served them well on the field. It was almost like they had some kind of psychic connection that let them read each other’s minds. He’d look over at Rory and just know that his friend was going to make a break for it and would need coverage. It certainly worked to their team’s advantage and had made the babes eager to drop their knickers.
They passed the bank clock which proclaimed in bright red numbers that it was just past midnight. As they left the bar district and made their way to their apartment, the shops became more upscale. Giant flower planters shone beneath the street lights in vibrant bursts of color. Liam loved this city, loved the freedom he found here, and most of all loved that he got to share it with his best mate. Since he’d met Rory three years ago, his view of the world had expanded greatly, thanks in no small part to Rory’s influence. At first Liam been a little intimidated by his roommate, but Rory had such a good heart and energetic spirit that it was almost impossible not to like him.
Liam glanced over at his friend and watched as Rory took a running leap over a stone planter, the muscles in his calves bunching and flexing beneath his shorts. His friend often reminded him of a cheetah, all lean grace and speed. Liam considered jumping it as well, but with as much lager and whiskey shots as he’d done tonight he’d be more apt to run into the damn thing and break his face. The fact that he was walking without too noticeable a stagger was the best he could do right now.
They soon reached the entrance to their high-end apartment building, and Liam tried to shush Rory as he sang their university’s fight song at the top of his lungs. Liam tried to shush him again as the doors closed behind them and Rory’s voice echoed through the posh entrance. Liam still felt out of place every time he walked into their apartment building with its marble foyer and priceless works of original art hanging on the walls.
As they passed Joe, one of the nighttime security guards, Rory ran over and jumped up on his desk, striking an exaggerated victorious pose with his arms thrust into the air in a V. “Joe! We won!”
Laughing, Joe shook his head and made a shooing motion. “So I heard. Scored the winning points, didn’t ya?”
Dragging his friend off Joe’s desk, Liam grinned at the security guard. “That we did.”
“You boys made us proud today. Now get yer arses into yer apartment before Mrs. Stemple comes down here and has a heart attack.”
All three men winced at the mention of the elderly woman with a sharp tongue and yappy dogs. Liam and Rory took the two flights of stairs up to their apartment, too impatient to wait for the elevator that Rory swore smelled like a combination of old lady and Indian food, though Liam couldn’t smell anything wrong with it. They reached their apartment, and Liam tried to keep from laughing as Rory pretended to hump a large potted palm tree that graced the end of the hallway. Their apartment took up one half of the floor. The other half was occupied by their neighbor, who was frequently out of town on business trips. Once the door was open, Liam shoved Rory in and shut the door behind him with a sigh, glad they’d made it home without anyone being arrested. Then again Rory could probably charm them out of any trouble they got into. He’d frequently done that in the past.
“Oi, I stink like that cow-shit farm of yours. I’m going to take a shower.”
Used to his friend’s jabs about Liam’s rural upbringing, he pretty much ignored Rory and responded with his usual comeback. “Go make yerself all pretty for me, baby. You know I like it when you smell like flowers.”
“Fuck you.”
While Rory took a quick shower, Liam flipped through channels on the wide-screen telly. He came across a porn channel and of course stopped to watch it, tossing the remote onto the glass coffee table in front of him. He could no more resist looking at a pussy than he could stop breathing. Soon enough he got an uncomfortable erection that tented the front of his loose, silky athletic shorts. The slam of Rory’s bedroom door had Liam grabbing a pillow to put over his crotch, which didn’t give him time to also change the channel.
Rory laughed from somewhere behind him. “I’ve seen this one about twenty times. There’s a scene coming up where that bird gives awesome head.”
Trying to act casual, Liam relaxed back against the sofa. “Really?”
“Oh yeah.”
Rory sat on the opposite end of the couch, and Liam noticed how good his friend looked. Sure, the girls always flocked to Rory because of his piercing blue eyes and chiseled features, and sure, Liam had often wished that he had his friend’s overabundance of charm and charisma, but he’d never really looked at Rory as anything other than his best friend. Now, for some reason, Liam could understand why the girls were so attracted to his friend. Rory certainly looked better than the guy currently eating the woman’s cunt in the movie.
Rory hadn’t bothered to put a shirt on, just his shorts. The scent of a cedar-based soap reached Liam’s nose, and he took in how developed Rory’s abdominal muscles were and the strength of his calves. The loud moan of the woman orgasming on the screen filled the room, and Liam’s body clenched tight with need.
His friend shifted. Liam immediately looked away, mentally cursing himself. What the fuck was he doing? He wasn’t a fag, and he didn’t like guys. Not that he had anything against gay guys, but in the rural village where he’d grown up, anyone who even vaguely exhibited any signs of being a homosexual was ridiculed mercilessly. And by ridiculed he meant got beaten up every time they left the house. One of his mates from high school, Paul, had come out last year, and his family disowned him.
No fucking way was that happening to Liam.
Unfortunately his prick liked Rory just fine.
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