Chapter 22: A Sleepover With Craig

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.”
 

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