Brody climbed into the car, fastened his seatbelt and turned to Aden. “Fancy a late lunch by the sea?”

“Okay.”

“Brighton or somewhere quiet?”

“Somewhere quiet. What about buying sandwiches? Having a picnic?”

Brody glanced at him before he turned out of the car park. “You have noticed it’s only February?”

“The sun’s out and we’ve got a blanket in the back.”

“Okay. I’ll stop at a supermarket.”

Brody could barely contain his pleasure at Aden having suggested something to do together. If the guy had said he wanted to go base jumping, Brody might have agreed. He kept telling himself not to like Aden too much, but he couldn’t help it.

Aden reached across and dragged his thumb across Brody’s mouth. “What are you smiling at?”

“I had a great time last night and today, at work, everything just went right. More than right. Half the animals I saw seemed to have nothing the matter with them. Usually, when we’re on call on Sunday mornings for emergencies, we get a few animals we have to put down, but not today.”

“Did you treat the rabbit the guy had stepped on?”

“Yeah, it was fine. Might have trapped a nerve or something because the rabbit was moving its leg with no problem. And Henrik’s dog has perked up which is a fucking miracle. I thought Odin was on the way out, but he’s like a puppy again.”

“Have you told Henrik about Matt?”

One word to dampen Brody’s mood. “Why would I do that?”

“In case he comes to the practice?”

It was a good point. “You’re right, but it’s not an easy thing to explain.”

“All you have to say is he’s an ex who won’t leave you alone. Tell Henrik and the nurses he’s a liar and stalking you, which is the truth. You should warn Des and Karen too. I told Des about that first time Matt came round.”

Brody glanced at him. “Yep, he said. Have you told Des Matt tried to kill you?”

“No. You ought to be keeping a record of every time he follows you or approaches you.”

Brody swallowed hard. “You’re right. I should.”

“If he’s not going to take no for an answer, you might have to go to the police and you’ll need evidence. Does he email you?”

“He did until I changed my email address.”

“The messages can probably be retrieved. Maybe phone calls and texts too. Do you know what car he drives?”

“Can we change the subject?”

“What do you think about pierced cocks?” Aden didn’t miss a beat.

Brody gaped at him, and almost hit the curb. “Were you thinking of getting your cock pierced?”

“No, yours.”

Brody laughed. “Forget it.”

“Okay. Have you ever worn women’s clothes?”

“No. Have you?”

“No. I’ve worn eyeliner though.”

“You don’t need it. Your eyes are gorgeous.”

There was a long pause before Aden spoke. “So are yours.”

 

When Brody emerged from the supermarket Aden was waiting outside the door and not in the car where he’d left him. Brody had been disappointed Aden hadn’t wanted to do the shopping with him.

“What’s wrong?” Brody asked.

“Can I drive? Are you insured?”

“Are you a careful driver? Hang on, didn’t you say it took you four goes to pass your driving test?”

“But I did pass in the end.”

Brody tossed him the keys. He put the carrier bags in the boot and climbed in the passenger side.

Within a hundred yards of the supermarket exit Aden was ignoring the sat nav.

“You missed the turn,” Brody said.

“I know. Hang on.”

Aden made three sharp turns and swerved abruptly into someone’s drive.

“Aden!”

When Brody saw him turn and look over his shoulder, he had a sneaking suspicion he knew what was wrong.

“You think Matt was following us?”

“Not think. Know.” He reversed out of the drive and took a circuitous route before leaving the town and finally the sat nav stopped trying to correct him.

“You sure it was him?” Brody’s heart was thumping fast.

“Yep.”

“You’ve lost him, right?”

“For the time being.”

“Shit. I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” Aden put his hand on Brody’s knee and squeezed. “Ask him to stop? If he comes up behind us again, take his number and call the police. At least that way you’re registering with them that he’s a problem.”

But there were no cars following them for the next couple of miles and Brody relaxed.

“Okay?” Aden asked.

“Yep.”

Aden took his hand off his knee.

“Not okay,” Brody said.

Aden put his hand back.

“Okay,” Brody said.

Aden laughed.

“The day I changed from a manual to an automatic was a good day.” Brody dragged Aden’s hand from his knee to the front of his trousers. His cock pushed against his zipper. “Shit, that wasn’t such a good idea.”

“Have you ever—”

“No,” Brody interrupted. “Too dangerous.” He paused. “Have you? While the car’s moving?”

Aden chuckled. “Yes. But we’re not going to do that. I don’t want to have an accident or for you to get arrested.”

“Would the old you have said that?”

“No.”

“Damn.” But Brody was content to lay his arm over Aden’s shoulder and stroke his neck. He could wait.

 

By the time they reached Camber Sands it was midafternoon. The sun was still out and there was only a light breeze. Brody refused to let thoughts of Matt spoil what had so far been a great day. They parked at the far end of the car park and retrieved the blanket and food from the boot.

“Have you ever been here before?” Brody asked.

“No.”

“It’s one of the few stretches of sand on the southeast coast. We have to climb over the dunes to get to the beach. It’s a harder route from here but much quieter. The other end you can go kitesurfing and kiteboarding. Des and I used to fly kites. It was one of the places we used to come to as a family.”

“My mum and dad once went on a week’s trip to Spain and left me on my own in the house. I was only eight.”

Brody stumbled on the sand and almost fell. “Christ.”

“I’d forgotten about that. I had the best time ever.”

“Seriously?”

“I slept where they usually slept, watched what I wanted on the TV, ate chips almost every night. I was sorry they came home.”

“Jesus, Aden. Didn’t anyone notice? You didn’t tell anyone?”

“No. I might have been taken into care. The sad thing is I preferred to stay with two people who didn’t want me. I think there was some tiny speck of hope that they might be kind one day.”

They reached the top of the dunes and stopped.

“Wow,” Aden said.

Brody had seen the view before. He stared at Aden whose gaze roamed over the beach and the sea. He boiled inside thinking of Aden as an unloved child.

“Which way?” Aden asked.

“Left.”

There was hardly anyone on the beach. A few people walking dogs on the wet sand, a couple of families bundled up against the cold. Brody looked for a dip in the dunes that would be sheltered, unfurled the blanket, flapping it in the air, then pulled it down. Aden dropped onto it with the bags of food.

As Brody unpacked what he’d bought, Aden laughed. “How many are we feeding here?”

“I wanted to be sure there was something you’d like.”

“I’ll eat anything.”

“I think that was proved untrue at the museum.”

Brody had bought a couple of bottles of Corona and flicked off the caps with an opener on his keyring.

“To you,” Brody said and clinked his bottle against Aden’s.

“Thanks for all this,” Aden said.

“You’re welcome.” Brody ripped open a packet of sandwiches and offered one to Aden.

They ate in silence for a few moments before Brody spoke. “They’ve made a few films here.”

“Have they? What?”

“Carry On Follow That Camel.”

Aden laughed. Brody loved hearing that sound.

“And?” Aden asked.

“The Monuments Men with George Clooney. Dunkirk. The Longest Day. The Incredible Forts of Des and Brody.”

Aden smiled. “Did you and your brother build sandcastles?”

“Yes. Huge complicated structures with roads between them and moats. Des kept sending me to get water for the moat and it always seeped away when I poured it in. Dad couldn’t leave the farm for long so we used to come on Sunday afternoons for a few hours. We didn’t stay anywhere overnight because that meant paying someone to look after the horses and animals.”

“Des told me he wanted to be a showjumper.”

Brody busied himself putting some of the rubbish back in a bag. “Did he?”

“Could he have made it?”

“He was good, but it costs a lot of money to be in showjumping. Mum used to drive him to events all over the country. They were hoping he’d get sponsored, but then there was the accident and Des had to give up on that.”

“Do you think he resents you?”

Brody dropped onto his back. “He has to. I have my dream and he doesn’t have his.”

“But maybe he’d not have, even if your parents had survived. Not everything in life works out the way you want. He’s proud of you. He worries about you.”

“He doesn’t act like it.”

Aden grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. “Come on, you miserable sod. I’ll race you to the sea.”

“What about our stuff?”

“No one’s going to nick it.” He shucked off his coat. “First one there gets a blow job when we get back.”

Aden was off before Brody had registered what he’d said. He whooped and sprinted after Aden.

 

Aden wasn’t going to lose. Running was one of the few things he was good at. He’d had plenty of practice. When he’d nicked something and needed to get away fast, his speed had saved him. He sprinted over the sand, his heart pounding. The pleasure was usually in the journey, in the actual free flowing movement, and not the destination, but this time there was a bonus at the end.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d run in an open space like this. He’d sprinted on city streets, through parks and down the side of the Thames, but never on a beach. He glanced over his shoulder, saw Brody a few yards behind him and ran faster. Aden usually felt as if running made him powerful, for a brief period of time in control of his destiny, but his destiny had already been decided. He should feel at his most alive and yet he was dead.

Dead, dead, dead.

Shut the fuck up. The sea was there, coming up fast, the waves rolling onto the sand and part of him was tempted to just keep running, splash into the water, keep moving forward. But he pulled up at the edge of the surf and turned. Brody ran up and stood with his chest heaving.

“Wanted…you…win,” Brody panted.

“Let me, did you? I bet you’ve never let anyone win in your life.”

Brody stuck out his tongue. Aden pulled him into his arms and kissed him. If a bolt of lightning had shot from the sky and hit him, Aden wouldn’t have felt so electrified. He melted into Brody as if they’d been welded together. No gentleness in this kiss, it was raw power. There was a load roaring in Aden’s ears and he thought for a moment it was the sea rising up to sweep over them before he realized it was just the blood rushing in his ears. Energy tore through his limbs, turning silica into cement and fixing him to the spot.

Shit. If Brody had pulled him down and fucked him, Aden would have let him even though they were on a public beach silhouetted against the low sun. He tried to clamp down on his desperation, but he felt as if his head was going to explode. He grabbed Brody’s hips, yanked him in close, wanted him closer.

“Aden.” Brody shifted his mouth from his to gulp out one word before Aden dragged him back.

Aden felt his life was just beginning and yet it was over. This kiss was a frantic attempt to cling onto something, to mean something to one person in the world. Brody didn’t have to love him, just want him this desperately, as much as Aden wanted him. It would be enough. It had to be enough.

“Aden!”

He let Brody go and stood with his chest heaving, heart hurting, frustration and lust and anger churning in his head.

“Sorry,” Aden whispered.

Brody leaned in, brushed his lips against Aden’s in a soft sweep that almost released a whimper from Aden’s throat. Brody’s fingers slid through Aden’s and he squeezed gently. Brody’s kiss was the exact opposite of what had gone before. His tongue was gentle against Aden’s. Brody tasted of beer and a knot of longing coiled and tightened inside Aden’s chest.

“Ready to go back?” Brody asked.

Aden wished he could go back. Go back before he’d gone anywhere near the Octoplex, but then none of this would have happened. He wouldn’t have died, wouldn’t have met Brody. He’d have carried on in his sad little life, serving overpriced drinks to guys in designer suits, mending cars he’d never afford, living in some crappy bedsit and existing on cheap food, fucking who he fancied when he liked but never the same guy twice. He didn’t deserve Brody. Aden almost laughed. Well, he hadn’t got Brody. He was just on loan for a while, while Aden learned about life and love.

They walked back to the dunes hand in hand and a woman with a dog and little kid crossed their path. The dog, a terrier, ran straight to Aden and curled around his feet. Aden had to stop walking so he didn’t trip up.

“Hi,” the woman said. “Beanie, here!”

The dog stayed next to Aden.

“Sorry,” the woman said. She threw a ball and that broke the spell. The dog raced down the beach after it.

Brody tugged Aden on, then tucked his fingers into the back pocket of Aden’s jeans.

“Feathers?” Brody pulled them out. “I thought I felt those before.” He held up the white and black feathers. “Good luck thing? Remains of a favorite hen?”

An unexpected laugh burst from Aden’s throat. “Do they look like hen’s feathers?”

“No. Maybe a swan’s. They’re flight feathers, I know that much.”

“How?”

“One side of the vane is wider than the other.” Brody pulled the feather through his fingers. “And they have stronger barbules. That helps in flight. The Tundra swan has the most feathers of any bird. Twenty-five thousand. Most birds have one or two thousand. So have I passed the test? A black swan and a white swan?”

“I don’t know.” Aden glanced at him. “How the hell did they find out about the number of feathers? Pluck a swan?”

“A dead one.”

“Oh right. “

He felt Brody pushing the feathers back and caught his wrist.  “Let them go.”

“Sure?”

“Yeah.”

Brody held them up and when he released them, the breeze swirled the feathers up into the sky.

“Christ, are they not going to come down?” Brody stared as the feathers drifted higher.

“Everything that goes up comes down eventually.” Aden grinned and yanked him toward the dunes.

Back at the blanket, they pulled on their coats, but left them unfastened.

“I wish it was the middle of summer.” Brody dropped down, shivering.

“With a beach full of kids? There are advantages to being here now. Low light. Hardly anyone around. We’re not likely to be seen.”

“I’d prefer definitely not going to be seen.”

“I’ll keep watch.”

Brody laughed. “You shut your eyes when you come. You look…”

“Look what?”

“Wild. Hot. Free.”

Oh God. And I’ve never been more trapped. Aden curled his fingers around Brody’s neck. He thought about going slow this time but the moment their lips touched, that chance was gone. They kissed until no air was left in Aden’s lungs. Kissed until desire had filled every cell in his body to bursting. Kissed until his pulse thundered as if he’d run for hours.

Brody’s fingers fumbled at Aden’s waist, unbuttoned, unzipped and when he took Aden’s cock in his hand, desire flashed over Aden’s skin and left a rash of goose bumps in its wake. Brody dragged his fist up and down, letting Aden’s cock slide in his hand, and Aden’s breathing faltered.

“I love doing this to you,” Brody whispered. “Making you come undone. Watching you come undone.”

Brody shuffled down the blanket, breathed on Aden’s dick and Aden sucked in a breath. Brody kept one hand wrapped around the base while he licked the crest, sliding his tongue back and forth over the slit. Tension coiled at the root of Aden’s shaft. He was embarrassed how quickly Brody could bring him to the boil.

“Want to fuck your mouth,” Aden whispered.

“Do it.”

He threaded his fingers in the guy’s silky hair, arched his hips and drove his cock between Brody’s lips. Brody mumbled around him and sucked harder. Aden’s balls drew up and he groaned. Not yet.

As if Brody had heard him, he pulled back with his mouth and pushed down on the base of Aden’s dick. The need to come receded, then Brody coaxed him back up, warm ripples spreading in wider and wider circles over Aden’s skin until he was sure he’d explode. Then Brody brought him down again. The perfect torment.

Aden forced his eyes open and watched him, saw Brody staring at him, his cheek bulging with cock and that sight alone almost tipped Aden over the edge. But the fingers on the base of his dick were firm and insistent and held orgasm at bay. Brody took more and more of him into his mouth until Aden felt the muscles of Brody’s throat contracting around his tip.

Aden gasped, trying to control his racing respiration. When Brody concentrated on the head of Aden’s dick, his mouth moving at lightning speed over the top couple of inches, Aden knew he was done for. His nuts tightened to the point of pain as tension rolled over him in stronger and higher waves. Fire flashed from his brain to his groin. Flickers of white heat shot from his sac to his cock and he erupted into an orgasm that was deep and shattering and heart wrenching. Brody took every jet of his come, then licked him clean. Aden wasn’t sure he could ever move again.

But when Brody pulled up his zipper and fastened his button, Aden caught his wrist and rubbed his thumb over the pulse point.

“You have no idea what you’re doing to me,” Aden said quietly.

“Want to tell me?”

Aden let out a low chuckle. “I could show you.”

“Ahh. Too late. I’ve had a little accident.” Brody rolled onto his back. “I feel like a teenager. I should be able to control myself better than that. Your fault.”

Aden pushed aside Brody’s coat, unfastened his pants and licked Brody clean.

“You’re still going to be uncomfortable,” Aden said as he fastened Brody up again.

“Aden?”

“What?”

Brody’s mouth slammed into his as he kissed him. Arms wrapped around each other, they rolled on the blanket, mouths open and closed, feeding each other their kisses until they finally broke apart gasping. Aden lay on his back, looking up into the sky. “What was that for?”

“Making me come in my pants, then cleaning me up. No one…”

Aden huffed.

“For being a friend, for listening to me,” Brody whispered. “For caring.”

Aden turned to look at him.

“Sunset.” Brody tugged him up. “Going to be a good one.”

They sat side by side, hand in hand. The sun was illuminating the clouds, painting them shades of yellow, orange and red, the rest of the sky stained by some exotic mixed up purple pigment.

“It looks as though the sun’s going to drown in the sea,” Brody said. “When I was a kid, I used to think it actually went into the water.”

Aden hadn’t sat and watched a sunset for years. They squinted as the sun slid below the horizon, the colours intensifying before they finally faded.

“Wow,” Aden whispered.

“I like being with you,” Brody said.

Aden turned to look at him. “I don’t mind being with you.”

That earned him a thump.

Aden put his hand in his pocket, pulled out the feathers and held them out to Brody.

“Where did they come from? Some magic trick?”

Aden shook his head. He let the feathers go and they fluttered off into the dunes. “Check my pockets. Jeans and coat.”

Brody pulled out two more feathers and gave Aden a quizzical look.

“Sure there’s no more?” Aden asked.

“Yeah.”

“Let them go.”

The feathers disappeared over the dunes.

“Check my pockets again,” Aden said.

Brody pulled out another two feathers. “Wow, that’s brilliant. How do you do it?”

“I wish I knew.”

Brody didn’t push him. “Well, I’m impressed. That’s some party trick.”