Second Chance(50)

Jack was relieved to be done with this conversation. He put the mugs in the dishwasher. “Right,” he said briskly. “I’m off to bed. Sleep well.”

“Yes, you too, dear.” His mum was looking at him as if he was a stranger. Maybe he was. They’d never been close. And since Jack had left home they’d spent barely any time together. Jack rarely went home to visit and his parents never came to stay with him in Manchester. Then when Jack first moved back to Hedbury he hadn’t been himself. Too depressed to interact much, he’d mostly stayed in his room apart from mealtimes. He realised now that his parents didn’t really know the man Jack had become, because they’d never really tried to know him. It bothered Jack that this realisation hurt. He’d thought he was past being hurt by the disconnect between himself and his parents.

Apparently not.

Once Jack was ready for bed he crawled under the covers and lay in the darkness. Hugging his pillow as he waited for the bedclothes to warm up around him, he noticed that the pillowcase smelt faintly of Nate’s aftershave.

A stab of guilt sliced through Jack as he remembered lying to his mum about Nate again. It felt disloyal, as though he was denying something important. But he was doing it to protect Nate, so at least his motivation was innocent. Nothing good would come of his parents knowing the nature of his relationship with Nate. He couldn’t imagine they’d be happy about it, they’d only judge him and Nate, and who knew what conclusions they’d draw?

Jack had no desire to find out.





Thirteen





A couple of weeks passed and Nate’s feelings for Jack grew stronger every day.

Keeping them a secret was exhausting, but Jack never brought up the subject and Nate was too afraid to broach it himself. He was confident in Jack’s attraction to him, and his affection was obvious too. But Nate still had the nagging feeling that this meant more to him than it did to Jack, and if he admitted the imbalance then Jack might not want to carry on seeing him, or might want to go back to being just friends.

Nate had started fantasising about futures where they were together. It wasn’t hard to imagine. Their friendship was easy, they communicated well. Jack was more relaxed now as his mental health continued to improve. He’d given up smoking and was happier and healthier by the day. Nate could easily envision them making the leap to a proper relationship, maybe even a long-term thing if it was something they both wanted. They had fun together, and they had plenty of shared interests: music, TV, films, board games. And they were sexually compatible too, with more than enough chemistry.

They’d fallen into a kind of routine now that his mum and Cass knew about Jack. Jack would come over to Nate’s about twice a week, and whenever Jack’s parents were both out, Nate would go over to Jack’s to make the most of the privacy.

At Nate’s place they had dinner with Nate’s family, fooled around—quietly—in Nate’s room, and watched movies together. At Jack’s place they fucked and made as much noise as they liked. But their time together was often cut short. It was rare for both Jack’s parents to be out late, so they snatched a couple of hours here and there. Sometimes in the afternoon when Jack had finished work, and sometimes in an evening. That time was precious, but Nate was always aware of Jack’s tension as it got closer to the time his parents were due back.

Tonight they were at Jack’s on a Tuesday evening. His parents were out at a concert but were going to be back not long after ten.

“It’s still only half past nine. We’ve got time. Focus on me.” Nate put a hand in Jack’s hair and turned his face away from the clock by the bed and back towards Nate who was riding his cock.

“Sorry.” Jack looked shamefaced.

“Rub my dick; that will make me come. Then if you still haven’t come I’ll suck you off till you do.” Jack licked his thumb and started circling it over the tip of Nate’s cock. “Mmm. That’s good.” Nate closed his eyes, riding Jack harder as the sensation started to build. Losing himself in it, Nate kept his eyes shut until he was almost there. “I’m close now. Don’t stop.” Opening his eyes, he caught Jack glancing at the clock again and Nate’s climax receded like a wave sweeping back from the shore. “Fuck’s sake, Jack. That’s not helping.”

“Sorry,” Jack said again.

They carried on a little longer, but Nate could feel that Jack was losing his erection, so eventually he gave up and climbed off. He flopped onto his back beside Jack, thighs aching from the exertion, and the mood totally broken. “Would it really be so bad if they came home and I was here? They don’t need to know we’re fucking if that’s what’s bothering you.” Nate’s hurt and irritation laced his tone, sharpening it. “But given that we’ve been fucking for a month now, maybe you should tell them. You’re an adult after all. Are you really that worried about them knowing you’re seeing me? What are they going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Jack’s voice was flat. “I just…. I don’t want to deal with it, okay? I’m not exactly what you’d call close to my parents. I don’t like them knowing about my life. This is my business and it isn’t anything to do with them.”

“But it affects us.” Nate turned to look at Jack, but Jack stared at the ceiling, a frown tugging at his brow. “If they know, then it will be easier for us to spend time together, won’t it? Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”