14. Chapter 14

14

A lfie seethed over the words, young and na?ve. Henry and Ryan constantly threw the words at him, but he'd not been expecting Nate to use them.

He still hadn't read Nate's file, but that didn't mean he wasn't strong enough on his own to end things before he crossed a line with a prisoner. An almost kiss was just that, an almost one. It hadn't happened. No matter how much he'd wanted to feel his lips against Nate's, he'd pulled back at the last second and slammed the hatch shut.

So he was going out, he was going to enjoy himself, and he would be leaving with someone that night. Maybe it wasn't the most mature reaction to Nate's words, but he was young, as everybody kept reminding him, and he was supposed to be having fun.

"Pretty please," Tia said, holding out the curling tongs.

It wasn't the first time Alfie had done her hair, and it saved him from the awkward drinking game going on in the other room.

"Sure," he said, untangling the cable. He plugged it in and put it on the side to warm up.

"I was thinking loose curls," she said, adjusting her dress. She'd picked a short black dress that showed off her long legs. Her matching heels were also black and added at least three inches of height.

Tia watched Alfie in the mirror.

"You look good," she said with a wink.

"Thanks for sounding surprised."

He'd tugged on his skinniest pair of black jeans and wore a green silk-like shirt the same colour as his eyes. He'd styled his hair, moisturised, and after some gentle encouragement from Tia, had allowed her to dab a small amount of concealer under his eyes with her finger.

Tia chuckled. "Poor Max tripped over his tongue when you came in."

"Don't start that again."

Alfie hovered his hand over the curlers to feel the heat. He snatched them up, and after Tia had partitioned sections of her hair, he got started. Her blue eyes were on him in the mirror the whole time.

"I decided which club we're going to…"

"Which one?"

"Glam."

Alfie frowned. "I don't know it."

"It opened last month." She licked her lips. "It's a gay club."

"But you're not—"

"You and Max are, and maybe…maybe I'm a little curious. Max has been there a few times. He said the music is the perfect balance of cheesy and sexy."

"Because everyone loves sexy cheese."

"Or cheesy sex." Tia laughed. "Is that…is that okay with you?"

"Tia, it's your birthday. I'm more than okay with whatever you want to do." He brushed out one of the curls until it was loose. "Who knows, there might be someone more my type."

Tia made a noise like a squeal and clapped her hands to her thighs. "It's going to be a good night!"

There was nothing wrong with Max. He was handsome with his bleach-blond hair and hazel eyes. He had dimples when he smiled, and he'd bulked up since the last time Alfie had seen him. His V-neck vest top hung low, exposing the curves of his pecs, and he wore a silver chain that glinted every time he moved.

But for Alfie, he was too smooth, too pristine, too put-together. He smelled of perfumed flowers, and he wore bright-orange trousers and Velcro trainers, and although he was the same age as Alfie, he looked younger.

He wasn't Nate who emitted masculine vibes, whose stubble scratched and whose voice murmured across Alfie's skin.

Don't think of Nate , Alfie said to himself, and not for the first time that night. They were in the cheap drink stop-off, Benny's, after splashing out on one cocktail each from Black Jacks.

Max had just finished his second beer when he sidled up to Alfie at the bar. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Alfie smiled. "Having fun?"

Max nodded. He rested his elbow on the bar, going for a casual look as he took in Alfie. "We'll be heading over to Glam soon."

"Tia said you're a fan of the place."

Max's cheeks reddened. "I wouldn't say a fan, but there's good music, and the drinks are an okay price. It's been packed every time I've been there, but the price on the door is quite high."

Alfie frowned. "How high?"

"￡25."

"Just to get in the door?" Alfie's eyebrows sprung up on his head.

"Yeah, but…" Max shrugged. "If you don't have enough, you could pay me back, or…or we could skip the club altogether."

"I think Tia has her heart set on it. In her words, she's ‘a little curious'."

"Tia could still go," Max blurted. "I meant we could skip it and go somewhere else."

Alfie bit the inside of his cheek. "I'd kind of like to check the place out."

"Yeah, sure, it's great." Max lowered his head. "There's a lot of guys our age, but there's some"—he wrinkled up his nose—"older guys that kind of hover around the dance floor."

"Older guys?"

"Yeah. Perverts, right?"

Alfie looked away. "I think as long as everyone is over eighteen, it's all good."

"Yeah, but…" Max shuddered. "They're old."

"Have you got lucky there?" Alfie asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah." Max bit his lip. "I've had a few hook-ups."

"Good for you." Alfie smiled.

"I'm…I'm no longer a virgin."

Alfie gawped, not knowing what to say to that. "Right. That's…that's great."

"I know that was the reason you turned me down last time. You found my lack of experience unattractive or whatever."

"Jesus, Max." Alfie gripped Max's shoulder. "That wasn't it at all."

"We were kissing, and then…"

"You blurted into my mouth that you were a virgin."

Max shrugged. "I wanted to be honest. I wasn't expecting you to go cold on me, then not message me back."

"You deserved to lose your virginity to someone important to you, not me on the first night we met. Tia was so excited for us to meet; I think in her head, she'd already decided we were the perfect couple, but we're different. We're after different things."

"What are you after?"

What I can't have.

"No strings," Alfie said, taking a swig of his beer.

Max smirked. "You're assuming I want strings? I lost my virginity against the wall around the back of Glam."

"Jesus."

"I don't want to be pampered. I just want sex and seems to me like you do too." He shrugged. "I'm fine with no strings."

"No repeats," Alfie added.

"Well, we didn't get further than second base the last time. We don't break that rule either."

"Max…"

"How about we make a deal?"

Alfie sighed down at the bar top. "What deal?"

"If by the end of the night, neither of us has hooked up with someone else, you'll come home with me, and we'll…go from second to a full run."

"Fine," Alfie said, finishing his beer.

Glam heaved with bodies. There were an equal number of men and women crammed into the nightclub. Alfie couldn't even get a good look at the place. The walls were red, and the ceiling was mirrored. They joined a queue to get served, and while they waited, Tia wrapped her arms around Alfie's neck and kissed his cheek.

"Enjoying your birthday?"

She nodded dopily, rubbing her nose against his cheek. "I think Sarah likes me."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"And do you like Sarah?"

Tia giggled. "Of course I like her, but I don't know if I like her, like her, ya know."

"What are you talking about?" Max asked from behind them.

Alfie gritted his teeth. Ever since he'd agreed to their deal, Max hadn't left his side. He'd not even entertained the idea of chatting to anyone else in the club, and he got a lot of interesting looks as he strolled around in his luminous trousers.

"Tia thinks Sarah likes her," Alfie replied, keeping as much hostility out of his voice as he could.

"She definitely likes you," Max replied.

Tia's arms tightened around Alfie's neck. "What do I do?"

"Be yourself."

"So jump on her and kiss her passionately." She laughed into Alfie's ear.

They got to the front of the queue, and Alfie ordered on behalf of everyone in their group.

"Hi again, Max," the barman said, shooting off a wink.

Max smiled. "Hi, Darrel."

Darrel turned his back on them to make their drinks.

"He seems friendly," Alfie said, glancing at Max.

"Jealous?" Max asked by his ear, and it didn't affect Alfie like Nate's voice did. He didn't shiver, he leaned away.

"Just curious," Alfie said with a shrug.

Tia gasped. "Has Maxy sucked his cock?"

"Tia," Alfie gaped.

"Maxy has," Max said. "And Darrel's sucked mine too."

Tia giggled, hugging Alfie to her.

"He's a good-looking guy," Alfie said, gesturing to Darrel, trying to get Max to focus on someone else, but it didn't work.

"He is," Max agreed. "But I've kind of set my sights on someone else."

"That's you, by the way," Tia said, bopping Alfie on the nose.

"What happened to the shy guy I met all those months ago?" Alfie asked.

Max smiled. "He got some experience and some confidence, and here he is…"

Darrel set their glasses down on the bar one by one. The others, including Sarah, came off the dance floor and headed over.

"I need a leak," Alfie said, untangling Tia's arms from his neck. He held her out towards Sarah, who readily accepted and took Tia into her arms.

Max took a step, looking as if he was about to follow Alfie, but a firm hand to his chest stopped him. "I mean it," Alfie said. "I'm going for a leak."

"I could come too."

"Do you need to go?"

"No." Max snorted. "But I might be able to push one out."

Alfie rolled his eyes. "I'll be back in five."

He pushed through all the bodies with his gaze fixed on the neon sign pointing the way to the toilets. Max, thankfully, didn't follow Alfie inside, and he took a minute to breathe without his shadow for the night.

He didn't understand it. Nate was forward and suggestive, and it turned Alfie on, but when Max acted the same way, it left him feeling uncomfortable.

Alfie did his business, washed his hands, then savoured the few minutes he held them out under the dryer.

When he stepped back into the corridor, he took a deep breath, ready to face Max again, but he stiffened at the feel of eyes on him and turned in the opposite direction. A man leaned against the wall a few metres from him. He had his phone in his hand but abandoned whatever he'd been doing to look at Alfie.

He was older than most of the men inside Glam if his receding hairline and wrinkled brow were anything to go by. He had dark hair and a dark beard, and his eyes were dark too as they took in Alfie.

The way the man looked at him was the same way Nate first had, like he was stripping away Alfie's clothes. Alfie shivered but didn't take a step in the dancefloor's direction. He stayed where he was, letting himself be made bare. The man read that as a positive and pocketed his phone into his blue jeans.

He strolled over, still looking Alfie up and down like he was something tempting.

"Hello," he said, and his voice was low.

It wasn't the same as Nate's, but it had a manly quality to it, deep and lingering. He wasn't Nate, but Alfie's breathing began to quicken like he was.

"Hi," Alfie mumbled, staring at the man's chest. He wore a white shirt with the top few buttons open to reveal a glimpse of chest hair. His aftershave was something dark and cloggy, and it got Alfie's heart working double time.

"You having a good night?" he asked.

"I don't know," Alfie admitted.

Tia was having a blast, that was the most important thing, but so far, he'd been trying to fend off Max's advances without making a show of it and upsetting the birthday group.

"Come," the man said, touching his hand to Alfie's waist. His palm was warm, firm as he squeezed. "I need a smoke…"

He removed the hand and walked in the direction of the door to the smoking area, glancing back to make sure Alfie was following. The Nate in his head told him not to, but it only made him more determined to go with the stranger.

The back door led to the smoking area, which was being watched over by a furious-looking bouncer to make sure no one snuck into Glam through the back street.

"I'm Liam."

"Alfie."

Liam smirked, reaching into his jean pocket. He pulled out a single cigarette and a lighter.

"Such a sweet name…"

Alfie didn't know what to say to that. He stood there paralysed while Liam had his cigarette. His dark eyes never once left Alfie, and when he finished, he dropped the cigarette to the floor and twisted his boot on top of it.

"I haven't seen you here before."

Alfie swallowed. "It's my first time."

"First time," Liam repeated, then he moved towards Alfie, backing him up to the wall.

Alfie gasped. It wasn't the bars of the gate at his back. It wasn't Nate's scent in his nose or his chest pressing against Alfie's. It was Liam's, a stranger, whose only similarity with Nate was the way he looked at Alfie. He looked at Alfie like he wanted to destroy him. But that was where the similarities ended, and the differences shone through.

Nate looked at Alfie like he wanted to destroy him and put him together afterwards, Liam did not.

Liam reached for Alfie's wrist. He circled his fingers and thumb around it. "Such a delicate little thing you are."

"I'm…I'm not delicate."

Liam tightened his hold.

Alfie gasped but didn't tug his arm back.

"Have you ever been tied up?" Liam asked as he stroked his thumb against Alfie's fluttering pulse.

"No."

Liam hummed, and a smile pulled at his lips. It spread wide and revealed rows of sharp-looking teeth. Alfie tried to blink them away. He tried to convince himself it was a friendly smile, but it held the undercurrent of something sinister.

"Would you like to be tied up?"

Yes. But not by him, his mind protested, and he thought of the drawing Nate had done of him, red-cheeked, wrists bound, and at Nate's mercy. That's what he wanted, not this, not with this stranger that might or might not actually be called Liam.

Liam went in for kiss, but Alfie turned his head, denying him. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I can't do this."

Liam didn't let him go immediately. He kept his chest to Alfie's, pinning him to the wall. "And why is that?"

"I just…can't."

"Nothing to do with that puppy following you around inside, is it?"

"What?"

"You heard me," Liam growled.

"You mean Max, and no, it's nothing to do with him. It's someone else."

Liam hummed and took a step back, releasing Alfie from the wall and letting his arm drop back by his side. "Then maybe you should be with that someone else rather than here, using those submissive eyes of yours to fuck people around."

"I didn't mean to—"

"Whatever," Liam interrupted. "I'm going back inside, and I suggest you don't."

Liam stalked off, barging his way through the back doors of Glam.

Alfie pushed off the wall, took Liam's advice and went home.