Friends and Love

Bruce's POV

When Marcus arrived at the party I was still talking to Seth. We were still talking about what was going on with me and his boyfriend, Tom; but the mood had lightened, so we had actually gone back out to the party. Having talked about the issues that worried us the most, we were able to relax and were talking about what was going on simply to understand each other's position better.

Marcus was the guy from last week. We had really hit it off and I had been certain he was a sure thing. I guess he was but he just happened to think my ass was a sure thing too. Which is precisely why I didn't want to talk to him now.

So I didn't even ask Seth, and as soon as I saw Marcus coming into the front door I grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his room, closing the door behind us.

"What was that?" He asked, confused.

"Sorry, Marcus just got here," I explained.

"He did? I should go say hi," he motioned for the door but I stopped him.

"No! Wait," I said, "Can we stay here for a while?"

I knew I was being childish, but I really didn't want to talk to Marcus and I knew I would have to do so if I went back out to the party.

"We can stay here for a few minutes but we have to go out soon, bro. We can't stay here the whole night," he explained.

"Why not? We don't even have to stay here the whole night, just until he leaves."

"Sorry dude but I am the host, and I've already been rude being here with you for so long. I have to go back out," as he was saying this the door to the room opened.

I was briefly scared it might be Marcus but immediately relieved upon seeing it was Tom. He came in and asked, "I thought you guys were done talking, what are you doing here?"

"Sorry babe, Bruce just needed a little time off from the party," I could tell he didn't want to reveal what I had told him about Marcus and me. But I didn't care if Tom knew.

I quickly explained to him about me and Marcus meeting last week and everything else I had told Seth, up to me wanting to stay here until Marcus left.

"Only problem is, I can't be here all night," Seth said.

"No you can't, Marcus is already asking for you, that's why I came looking for you guys," Tom explained.

"Shit, I'll go now then. Sorry Bruce, you can stay here as long as you want," he said to me, "See you in a bit, babe," he then said to Tom before opening the door and going out, closing it behind him.

Tom and I stayed quiet for a few seconds, looking at each other. The last time we had been alone I had shot a load of cum up his ass. I was wondering if we would be repeating things now. Which is how I got an idea.

"I got it!" I almost shouted.

"What?" I could tell I had taken him out of some daydream.

"You can act as if you were my boyfriend, that will keep Marcus away for good," I said, proud of my idea.

"That's a dumb idea," I was surprised to hear Tom say.

"It isn't, look, if Marcus sees me with someone else, particularly with me being in the dominant role, he'll lose any incentive to talk to me, because he'll realize there is no way for us to hook up," I reasoned.

"Yeah, that's not the dumb part," he said, and I was now confused, "What's dumb is thinking I'd want to do that."

"Why wouldn't you? It would just be a favor. Besides, we don't have to do much, maybe just some kissing and some groping over the clothes. It's not like we haven't done more than that," I said.

"Again, not really the problem," he said, clearly exhausted.

"Then what's the problem?" I asked, even more confused than before.

"The problem is I already have a boyfriend," he said, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world, "And his friends, along with many of mine happen to be out there. I don't want them to know what's going on between us, and I'm sure Seth wouldn't like his friends thinking I'm cheating on him."

"I thought you said he liked feeling like you were cheating on him."

"Yeah, but he has told me before that he wouldn't want anyone else to know," he explained.

I thought about the fact that I had already told Ryan and Scott about me and Tom, and how it hadn't affected anyone. But I decided not to say anything about that.

"Okay fine! It's a dumb idea then, but I don't know how was I supposed to just know that," I said.

"You weren't," he conceded, "But that's supposedly why you guys had to talk to each other," he shot, "If you didn't talk about that, then what the fuck have you been talking about all night?"

"We did talk about that. I mean, we talked about some limits and stuff," I said.

"Clearly not as much as you should have," Tom said.

"Because we also talked about other things, like you and how-" I cut myself off.

"You talked about how you guys like to fuck me?" He asked incredulously.

I simply nodded, knowing he was going to be mad at that.

"You fucking idiots, you should have been talking about stuff that's important, not about how you want to bend me over," he was clearly mad.

"You're right, sorry!" I tried to calm him down, "But you did say we still had to talk, all three of us together, we can talk about it then."

He was calming down some but clearly still angry, "Fine, I have to go, stay here if you want," he said and motioned for the door.

But I stopped him and pushed him against it, "Or... you could stay here with me and we could have some fun."

I kissed his lips and he resisted at first, wanting to say something. But soon his resistance melted away and he kissed me back. It was slow at first but when I tried to make it more passionate he pushed me back.

"I can't Bruce, I have to go out," he said.

"You have to, or you want to?" I tried to persuade him.

"I want to," he said, determined, "My boyfriend is out there and I want to be with him."

I knew I wouldn't be able to convince him then. I knew he really did love Seth, and he wanted to spend time with him. I knew it even if I didn't fully understand it. It was weird to me how someone could have such a strong sexual attraction to someone else, as I knew he had for me, and still retain in his own head a sense of loyalty and love for their partner.

I had never been in a relationship, so that's probably why I didn't understand it. I wonder sometimes if I'm missing out on something. But I'm not sure I could give up on the thrill of tasting someone new. Settling for one person seems hard. Even more so when you consider the fact that it means they can let you down.

"Look, if you want, I can introduce you to one of my friends. He is straight but I know for a fact he is curious enough to hook up with you if he is drunk enough," Tom said, breaking me out of my reverie.

"That would work, thank you," I said, still coming back into the present.

"But you will have to talk to Marcus eventually, he probably thinks he still has a shot with you. He probably thinks you just had an emergency last week, the way you left him without saying goodbye," he accused me.

"I think seeing me with someone else could be enough to get the message across," I said, "Though I must say I thought he would've gotten it at some point through the week."

"What do you mean?" He asked me.

"He has been texting me all week, he should learn what it means when someone doesn't text back," I said.

"He has your number?" Tom asked, incredulously, "Why would you give him your number if you didn't want to answer him?"

"We exchanged phone numbers before I knew he was strictly a top, I didn't know I wouldn't want to answer him," I defended myself.

"So you're solution has been to ghost him all week hoping he'll just go away?"

"I mean... isn't it obvious?" I said.

"Fuck, you really are an asshole," Tom said, before turning around to leave.

***

I stayed inside the room for 15 more minutes. I wanted Marcus to be distracted, maybe even talking to someone else, when I finally went out. It seemed to work because Marcus was nowhere to be seen when I first stepped out. I looked around the apartment and saw Seth and Tom talking to some of their friends by the entrance.

Tom shot me a look and gestured to a blonde twink that was across from him. He wanted me to know that was the guy I could seduce. He wasn't all that cute to be honest. His nose was quite long.

I figured that since Marcus didn't seem to be around I could postpone the plan for a while. I kept looking around the apartment and saw Ryan in the kitchen. He was hanging with Zach and his friends. Which obviously included Ryan's crush, Stan, and Zach's best friend Alec. He seemed to be having a good time and I saw him run his hand along Alec's arm as he laughed. He was really putting himself out there. I figured I could watch him for a while, out of curiosity and also to make sure he wouldn't get into any trouble.

As I looked around for a place to hang in, I looked outside to the balcony and saw Scott and Jason making out. It hit me again that they really seemed like they'd be a sure thing. Just two weeks ago Scott was in a relationship with that dickhead Bill. Now he had fucked Jack and was sucking face with Jason. Funny how things change so quickly. I was about to look away when I saw them break it off and after some small conversation Jason headed inside, leaving Scott outside. I made my way out to the balcony.

"Wow! You guys have really hit it off," I said, with genuine surprise.

He blushed so much at my comment that I could see the red through the night, "I guess we have, is that a bad thing?"

"No, not at all," I hurried to say, "He's really a great guy, everyone in the team loves him."

"Yeah, he's really cool," he said, "I honestly can't believe a guy like him would be interested in me."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, "Come on Scott, you are a great guy."

"Yeah, I'm not complaining. Just an observation," he said. I could see he was looking past me, into the apartment where I followed his stare to Jason. He really liked him.

"How did things go with today?" He asked me. He knew I had wanted to talk to Seth about what was going on.

"Great, the talk was really helpful," I said honestly, "Though something did happen earlier."

"What happened?" Scott asked, intrigued.

"So Tom and I were in the shower, you know, about to get it on," I saw his face but couldn't read his expression, "And he took the condom off me. Seth has never rimmed him before and I did earlier so he said I could fuck him without it."

"And you wanted to use a condom?" He asked, incredulously.

"No! It's just that I don't know if Seth would be okay with it, I've used a condom with Tom every other time. This just seemed like something he decided out of nowhere. It just seems to go against his own idea of talking things and all that crap," I told Scott.

"I told you there would be drama," he said condescendingly, "What did you expect if you are fucking your friend's boyfriend? Even if he knows."

"I know how you feel about all this but I just need some advice," I said. I didn't want to be lectured right now. Tom had already done that.

"That IS my advice," he said, with an emphasis on the second word, "This is just a disaster waiting to happen. Just stop getting involved in their relationship."

"Don't worry about them, they really are in love," I said, remembering how I had perceived Tom to truly be in love with Seth even though he was also sleeping with me.

"Maybe you're right," I was surprise to hear Scott say.

"Really?" I asked, extremely confused, "I didn't think you of all people would agree that they can be in love while also wanting me to sleep with one of them."

"Yeah well, after Bill and Jack I guess I don't really know anything about love, do I?" I was about to say something but he kept going, "I always thought love was something sacred between two people. But maybe seeing that as the only way to love is what has made me always get hurt. I'm not saying I'd want anything like what Seth and Tom have. But maybe idealizing just one form of love isn't good either."

"Idealizing just one form of love," I repeated, "Isn't that what straight people do?"

"Oh god you are right," he said laughing, "Now I know I definitely cannot keep thinking like that."

We both laughed together for a few seconds before I spoke again, "What is it like, anyway?" He seemed confused so I elaborated, "Being with someone, and wanting no one but them to be with you?"

"Honestly," he began before a long sigh, "It's fucking scary," he surprised me, "You are giving someone a part of yourself and they can do whatever they want with it. And it's a delicate part too. Easy to break."

"Sounds awful," I laughed, pushing the doubts out of my mind.

"It is," he laughed too, and then Jason came out from inside and handed him a drink. I saw them smile at each other the way Seth and Tom did too and then Scott got on his tips and gave Jason a small peck that lasted just half a second longer than expected.

He then continued talking, "But it is also kind of wonderful. Knowing there is someone out there who cares for you for far more than what you look like or how good you are at something."

"You mean like someone who likes your personality and all that?" I asked.

"Kind of," he said, "But there's also something else. Like there are all this things that make it make sense that someone would be attracted to you, and then there is something extra, that neither of you can explain."

"I've felt that before," Jason contributed, "But even now I wouldn't be able to explain it. I guess you just have to experience it."

"Yeah," I said, deep in thought, "It does sound like quite an experience."

"No one should miss out on it. Not for fear, or shame, or anything," Scott said, looking directly at me, "If you have a shot at feeling something like that, you don't want to let it go. Some people spend their whole lives looking for it. Some don't ever find it.

I knew he was talking about Marcus. Even if I didn't know Scott so well to know he was talking about him, I had been thinking about him all night. It hadn't been different during this conversation.

"Have a fun night guys, I gotta go back in," I said to them and saw Scott's smile as I turned away.

As I went back inside I knew needed to give this a chance. I had been wondering about it for a long time now and I couldn't pass up this chance to find out what it was like. If I didn't like it, I could always just go back to fucking my best friend's boyfriend.

***

I saw Marcus in a group with Seth, Tom and some of their friends. I really did find him attractive. He was almost as tall as me and he definitely had the body of someone who had played football for years. Even if he was on the slimmer side because, from what I heard, he was really fast. He turned to look at me as I walked towards them and he didn't even smile, just turned around almost immediately.

Marcus also happened to be black. Which I loved. Few things gave me more satisfaction than fucking a black guy. Probably because of all the rumors and fetishes around their sizes. And Marcus was very hot. He had a bald head which I had learned the week before was the way he had always liked to keep it.

When I got to them I didn't hesitate. I just took his hand and said, "Come with me." He tried looking for help from someone in the group but no one said anything. So he just followed behind me.

We walked through the hall past some couples in conversation. One of them I recognized and they were the only ones not currently talking. Zach and Stan were making out, with Stan's hands on the smaller guy's ass. Ryan was probably not happy.

We got to Seth's room and I pulled Marcus inside. No one was there. Normally at these parties someone always ended up in the rooms getting it on. But this party wasn't so big and Seth had only invited close friends, so I guess everyone respected his wish not to use his bedroom.

Maybe it was presumptuous of me but I figured he wouldn't mind me borrowing it. I was one of his best friends and he already let me borrowed his boyfriend, I'm sure his bedroom wasn't as big of a deal.

"What do you want Bruce?" Marcus asked after I had closed the door behind us.

He was understandably mad at me for ghosting him. But this wasn't the first time a guy got mad at me, because he wasn't the first guy I had ghosted. I knew how to get them happy.

I went in for a kiss, putting my left arm on his lower back. I closed my eyes and felt the softest touch of our lips before I was pushed back.

This was the second time tonight I was pushed away during a kiss. But Marcus was much stronger than Tom and I actually went back a few steps from his push.

"Oh no, you don't get to ghost me and then pretend everything's fine," he said angrily.

"Look, Marcus, I'm sorry about that, okay?" I said.

"Yeah I bet you are," he snapped back at me.

"I just got scared, but I really like you, I've never enjoyed talking to someone as much as I did with you that night," I found myself being honest.

He seemed to calm down some but he was still mad, "So what, I'm just supposed to forget about the fact that you haven't texted me back all week?" He went on, "And then what? We make out tonight and then you ghost me again?"

"It's not like that-," I tried to say but got interrupted.

"I know your type," he said, "I know because I was just like you in college. Fucked everything that would let me and I gave no fucks for them later. But I'm too old for that now, I really liked you but I'm not going to just be another hookup for you."

"I don't want to just hook up either," I told him, "I want to try getting to know you."

From the way he spoke I could tell he had done his research on me. Which meant he knew I was exclusively a top because everyone knows that. And if he was still willing to give this a chance while knowing that, it just meant he was willing to bottom for me. And I was up for that.

"Really? And what was all that about you dragging me in here and just trying to kiss me?" He questioned me.

"You said it yourself," I conceded, "I'm not used to doing relationships. That has always worked with other guys and it's all that I know so I just did it. I'm sorry."

He seemed much more relaxed, "Okay, apology accepted. So long as you don't do that again."

"Never, I promise," I said.

"Are you serious about this?" He asked, "I do like you but I'm not going to tolerate this fuckboy behavior of yours."

I thought about my talk with Scott and the way I had been feeling the last couple of months. Like everyone was invited to a party and I was the only person not allowed to enter. This was my way in, and I wouldn't let it go so fast.

"I am," I said, "I want us to get to know each other," as I spoke I took his hand back in mine and caressed it.

"Great, though I should definitely let you know something right now," he said, and he stood closer to me.

"What is it?" The close proximity made the blood start flowing between my legs.

He was now so close that he basically whispered into my ear, "We are not doing anything until I get to take you out on a date."

He then pulled away from me and sat on the bed.

"We'll have to start planning that date then," I said and sat next to him.

Scott's POV

The good thing about my growing relationship with Jason was how good we were at talking. Maybe it was because communication had been sorely lacking from my latest relationship, but I wanted things this time to be different. I was afraid I would scare him away but I wanted everything to be out in the open from the get go.

I told him about how my last relationship had recently ended because I slept with my best friend and thought he'd run away. When that didn't scare him away I also told him that despite being recently out of a long term relationship I was still looking for a long term commitment. I didn't want to just hook up for a while and then be over with him, I wanted us to go out thinking about how to make this work in the long run.