Saturday 12th March

Brian awoke with a start. A loud screeching noise filled his ears and he groped wildly around on the bedside table for an alarm clock. When he realised he couldn’t find one, he slowly pried open his eyes and looked around the room. It was empty. And yet the infuriating noise was still ringing in his head. He quickly got up and looked out of the window, and soon found the source. A large, red, annoying cockerel was strutting around the courtyard outside the guesthouse. It was calling loudly at random intervals, and Brian had to clap his hands over his ears to drown out the deafening noise. He stumbled around the room trying to pick up various pieces of clothing with his elbows, and then finally managed to get into the shower. He switched it on and the water spray drowned out any other noises. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back, sighing softly as the calming water flowed over his skin.

Brian reached for some shower gel and let in lather in his hands under the running water. He rubbed it into his arms and chest, and worked his way down, soaping himself thoroughly. As he reached his groin, his hand brushed against a morning erection that he hadn’t even noticed in all the cock confusion. He giggled slightly to himself at the mental pun and slipped his hand slowly along his length. As he slowly stroked himself, Brian found himself picturing Ben. He was naked, and stepping slowly into the shower, becoming dripping wet in seconds. Brian moaned at the mental images, and started pumping quicker, running his thumb across his head. The imaginary Ben starting stroking his own length, moving in rhythm with Brian. They moved closer to each other, groins barely touching and mouths desperately seeking heated kisses. As the sensation built, Brian leant against the cool shower tiles, his legs getting weaker. He moved his hand quicker now, well lubricated by the shower gel and a thin layer of pre-cum. His pants and moans filled the shower room as he felt himself drawing nearer to the edge. With a final grasp and a loud moan, he came against the wall. Pearly strings of cum now decorating the tiles and his hand. He gasped for breath and stood unsteadily back on his legs, washing himself slowly under the jet of hot water.

Brian wandered downstairs and found to his amazement that it was half nine. He hadn’t been up this early in years! As a result of his newly acquired sleeping pattern, he also had a decent breakfast for the first time in ages. As he tucked into his bacon, eggs and coffee, he looked curiously around the breakfast room. There were surprisingly quite a few other guests, considering he had hardly seen any of them since he had been there. On the table to his left sat an elderly couple, who were both dressed in shorts and examining some maps, probably planning their days excursion. To his right sat another couple, but young and soppy-looking, whispering words to each other and holding hands across the table. There were also one or two families with a few various kids, and in the corner sat Claude, nursing what seemed to be an eternal hangover. Marguerite was in the kitchen, and judging by the clashing of plates and the slopping of water she was attempting to wash up.

By the time Brian had finished his breakfast, Marguerite had appeared back in the room and sat down at his table. Her hair was untidily tied up in a knot at the back of her head, and there were soap bubbles across her nose. Brian decided not to mention it, given her harassed expression.

“I saw you walking back yesterday with someone” she said, in a tone that sounded quite accusing.

“Yeh Ben offered to walk me back” Brian replied, chewing on some toast as though nothing was wrong.

“You want to watch that one..” She replied mysteriously.

“Well I shall, I’m going out with him tonight” Brian said, still trying to appear casual. Marguerite simply snorted in response.

“What’s so bad about him anyway?” He queried.

“I don’t like him” She said simply, obviously not wanting to discuss him further. Brian shook his head slightly.

“Fair enough.. Anyway I need something to do today and I’m stuck for ideas. Is there anything interesting near by?” he asked.

“Oh yes, there’s a nice market in the next town that is worth checking out. Le Marché de Poisson” she replied after thinking for a while.

“Oh is it a fish market then?” Brian asked. Marguerite looked at him blankly.

“No.” she said simply.

“Ok then…” Brian replied, a bit confused as Marguerite launched into the finer details of the market and how to get there.

Half an hour later and Brian was waiting impatiently in the reception for a cab. He had phoned for one quite a while ago, and was getting bored of standing around doing nothing. He jumped as he felt someone tapping him on his shoulder and turned around in surprise. It was Claude.

“I saw you coming back with Ben last night..” he started saying, his voice slightly husky.

“Argh I don’t need more lectures about him” Brian stated, starting to get a bit pissed off with everyone.

“I was about to say, don’t mind Marguerite. They had a falling out ages ago, Ben is a nice lad really” Claude finished with a knowing wink, and patted Brian on the shoulder before ambling off again. Brian stood there, a bit confused and wondering whether he should take the advice of the village drunk. Before he could ponder the matter anymore, a loud beeping outside announced the arrival of the cab.

“About time.” Brian muttered to himself as he grabbed his stuff and walked outside.

Brian found the market with very little trouble, and enjoyed his morning walking around and admiring all the different wares. He ended up buying some bottles and jars of various sauces and pickles for Stef, as he was quite a keen cook. He was just browsing a stall for something to get Steve when someone bumped into him. He looked around to find Nicolas sneering back at him.

“Oh you’re still here I see” he said, with a malicious hint to his voice.

“Yeh it’s really nice here, I’ve decided to stay a while” Brian replied airily, picking up a bracelet and inspecting it.

“And I see you’ve got your claws into someone already. Poor little waiter, probably didn’t know what hit him. What with those famous charms of yours.” Nicolas said in a slightly lower tone, and walked off. Brian stared at him as he disappeared from sight. What had he meant? He stood thinking for a while, before putting the bracelet down and deciding to get some food to take his mind off it.

Brian sat in a small bustling café eating some delicious pasta and salad dish. He was rather pissed off at having been stuffed into the smoking section like he had some kind of contagious disease, but the lovely food quickly made up for it. He lit up a cigarette and took a sip of his coffee. Nicotine and caffeine, the perfect cure for nerves and stress. His worries about Nicolas quickly melted away as he sat contentedly spying on the world. It seemed hours ticked away into nothing as Brian looked out of the window at the different people hurrying by. He tried to guess their feelings, who they were hurrying to meet, and their relationships. He found himself imagining small yet intricate stories about each persons life, judged entirely by their looks and the way they moved. Eventually as his mind grew bored of preying on his overactive imagination, his thought's moved back to Ben. He was still nervous about that evening, but then who wouldn't be? He had a date with a beautiful, charming young man in a place that he didn't know too well. Who knew what could happen? And then his mind went off into a weird sort of tangent, and he suddenly imagined Ben rejecting him, and everything fucking up.

Brian shook his head quickly to rid himself of the thoughts, and he was sure some people were staring at him by now, so he rapidly stood up and went to pay for his meal. He walked out of the café and lit up another cigarette without realising, trying to calm his nerves and stop his hands from shaking. He mentally reassured himself that the date would go fine, and walked back into the market to try to distract himself. Brian walked around the back of the stalls towards a less crowded area. He spotted a stall with shining silver decorating it, and headed towards it. The small table was covered in pretty sparkling jewellery, and he studied some pendants and bangles for a while. He ended up choosing a simple spiral design pendant, and then just as he was paying for it he bought another identical one on impulse. He slipped the two necklaces into his bag and walked back up the street, pausing sometimes to look at items that caught his eye.

When Brian looked at his watch next, he found to his amazement it was half five, so he walked down towards the edge of the town to find a cab. He eventually managed to get one's attention and gratefully slipped into the back, informing the driver of his destination. He sat quietly throughout the journey, just gazing out of the window as the butterflies in his stomach seemed to turn into a whirlwind. He was pleased when the cab stopped outside the now familiar building, and he quickly paid the driver and walked inside the guesthouse. Brian found himself face to face with Clémantine and actually jumped slightly in shock. She smiled and was just about to explain herself when Marguerite came bustling into the room.

“Oh Brian you're back I see. Have a nice time? Good. We were just finishing off a family meal, there’s some leftovers if you want them” she said rapidly and smiled, it was all Brian could do to nod back.

“Good good, you need some meat on you, a bit too thin for my liking” she replied, poking him in the ribs at the last sentence. Brian just laughed nervously at his sudden invasion of privacy, and watched carefully as she left the room. Clémantine laughed at his slightly worried look and led him to the kitchen.

“Well at least she’s picking on you and not me anymore” she said as she sat herself down at the table and watched Brian put some chicken and potatoes onto his plate. “She’s been on at me all afternoon as to why I'm not happily married yet”

Brian grinned through his mouthful of food.

“Well glad to see it amuses you. Anyway I hear some rumours about you and Ben tonight?” she said, licking her lips in anticipation for some good gossip.

“News travels quick then? Yeh I asked him out tonight” Brian replied, trying to suppress a huge smile as he continued eating. Clémantine suddenly out of character squealed loudly and almost made him choke.

“Wow really? Ahh that’s excellent! What are you going to wear?” She asked quickly, her excitement showing through in the rapid delivery of her words.

“Umm I'm not sure. Maybe you can help with that?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and finishing off his food.

“Of course” Clémantine said, and then nodded gravely as though it was a very serious task. She impatiently waited until Brian had scraped the leftovers off his plate, and then grabbed his arm to lead him upstairs.

They arrived at Brian’s room and Clémantine immediately launched herself at Brian’s wardrobe. She quickly started picking out various shirts and jeans and laying them out on the bed.

“Wow you have some nice clothes, but shit, some of these must be designer?” She commented, gesturing to a pile of shirts on the bed. Brian looked at them and nodded.

“Yeh there’s a Vivienne Westwood one on top, and a really nice Versace shirt. Ooh and my Dolce and Gabbana jeans, I love those.” He replied, picking up some dark jeans. Clémantine stared at him in astonishment.

“Fuck, you must be a really good writer to afford these!” she said, still staring. Brian blushed nervously and rubbed his forehead.

“Oh yeh.. Well I’ve sold a few good stories and stuff..” he said, unsure of whether he should lie to Clémantine as well. She smiled at him as she continued her search through his clothes.

“Yeah right, I bet you’re really famous and I don’t even know!” she laughed. Brian froze for a moment, and then laughed nervously, perhaps a little too late. Clémantine obviously didn’t notice, so he sat down at the end of the bed and started rifling through his make-up. He was just applying some foundation in his travel mirror when something hit his back. He turned around to see Clémantine holding up a pair of light blue jeans.

“What do you think?” She asked as she held up a sleeveless white top above them. Brian grinned.

“Perfect!” he said, “I didn’t even know I’d brought those jeans with me”

She handed the clothes to him as he walked past into the bathroom. He quickly stepped out of his old jeans and pulled the new pair on. They sat just on his hips, and then flared out slightly towards the bottom. And most importantly they clung to his arse tightly. He grinned to himself, and put on the top, being careful not to cover it in foundation. It was fitted, but not too tight, and showed off his lithe figure perfectly. Brian smiled and waltzed out of the bathroom, twirling around in front of the bed. Clémantine laughed as he became slightly dizzy and had to sit down.

“Wow you look great! Ben won’t be able to resist you.” she said as Brian pulled his bag of make-up over again.

“Lets hope so.” he said as he started work on his eyes.

At quarter to nine Brian was waiting nervously in the reception with Clémantine. She had called the cab company for him as he had remembered he needed a jacket, and dashed back upstairs. He sat with his legs crossed, and continually kept flicking one leg over the other, and then back again. He was also drumming on his thigh, as he stared at the clock on the wall and willed it to be 9 already.

“God you look so nervous” Clémantine commented. “Don’t worry it will be fine” she smiled at him and rubbed his hand reassuringly. Brian managed a smile and then resumed watching the clock, which was now going so slow he was sure it was about to go backwards. He jumped as someone opened the front door, and looked up to see the man he was expecting. He got to his feet with Clémantine and she giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

“Right I’ve got to dash, have fun you two!” she said with a knowing wink as she hastily exited.

Brian turned to face Ben and the one thought that crossed his mind was “wow!”. He surveyed him quickly, a cheeky smile now occupying his face. Ben had decided to play it casual in a pair of black jeans and a dark blue shirt that had the first few buttons undone. Ben coughed nervously.

“Shall we er.. go?” he asked.

“Oh yes sorry! You look great!” Brian said, as he grabbed Ben’s arm and led him out of the door. The cab was waiting and Ben blushed his thanks as they both climbed into the back.

“Le Trou dans Ste Maxime s’il vous plait” he instructed. Ben looked at him curiously.

“We’re going to Le Trou?” he asked.

“Yes why?” Brian replied, feeling worried he had chosen somewhere inappropriate. Ben just smiled back at him.

“I’ve always wanted to go there” he said, slightly shyly. Brian grinned to himself, and started telling Ben about his day at the market.

The cab pulled up right outside the club, and Brian had swanned up to the door and paid for them both before Ben could even say anything. Brian must have sensed his unvoiced question as he turned to face him.

“I asked you out on the date, so I just think its right I should pay.” He explained, looking at Ben pensively. Ben just smiled back.

“Date? I like the sound of that” he said. Brian laughed with him as they linked arms and walked into the dimly lit room.

There was some loud dance music playing, which immediately muffled their ears. They both stood at the doorway as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Slowly various figures and objects slipped into view, and Brian moved towards a table near the bar. He waited for Ben to sit down before leaning forward.

“What do you want to drink?” he asked loudly, though his voice could just about be heard over the music.

“Southern Comfort and coke” Ben replied. Brian nodded and sauntered over to the bar, making sure his jeans were hugging his figure in all the right places. He could feel Ben’s eyes boring into his back (side, as it were) and he smiled to himself, before leaning over the bar and ordering their drinks.

It wasn’t long before he was making his way back to the table, with a cool glass in each hand. He slipped into the seat next to Ben and put the drinks on the table, he also made sure he was sitting as close to Ben as possible. Not that it seemed he minded, as he picked up his glass and mouthed a thanks.

They both sat in silence for a moment, testing their drinks, removing coats, and bags in Brian’s case. Then Ben twisted to the side to face him, and leant close to his neck to talk.

“So you live in London right?” he asked. Brian shivered slightly as his warm breath tickled the delicate skin on his neck.

“Yeh, in Stratford” he managed to reply, “I have a nice converted loft flat, its really spacious and airy”

“And I’m assuming you live alone then?” Ben asked, knowing the answer but wanting to be certain.

“Yep. Well Stef and Steve stay over so often they might as well live there” Brian replied casually, not quite knowing what to with his hands, so placing them in his lap instead. Ben drew back slightly to reveal his confused expression. Brian remembered he hadn’t mentioned Stef or Steve yet. He slid his hand round the back of Ben’s neck and pulled him closer so he could hear.

“Stef and Steve are my two best friends. I’ve known them for years, and I went to school with Stef.” He explained. He didn’t move his hand either; it was just left comfortably on Ben’s neck as Brian talked eagerly about his friends.

Ben moved his head back slightly as he looked at Brian.

“Wow they sound like good friends” he said. Brian nodded.

“They are” he replied. Ben chewed his lip for a moment and looked around the room. His eyes came back to settle on Brian’s after a while.

“Were you ever.. with either of them?” he asked quietly. Brian laughed softly.

“I guess it sounds that way, but no. It would be too weird, they are like my family. Even Steve’s little daughter calls me and Stef uncle” he said as Ben looked relieved. He suddenly got to his feet and held out his hand.

“I love this song. Come dance with me?”

Ben looked hesitant for a moment, then allowed himself to be pulled to his feet by Brian. They moved casually over to the dance floor, where there were already some people swaying to the music. Brian grabbed his hips to turn him so they were facing, and started to move, slowly at first, but in time with the beat. He noticed Ben was looking a bit lost so he led him, swaying his hips sensually, his gaze never leaving the taller man’s. He ran one of his hands along Ben’s side and round his back, hooking him closer. They gravitated toward each other as though naturally, and Brian found himself getting lost in the music and rhythm. It felt so right to be there, dancing with a beautiful young man, who’s body was now so close to his own he could feel the nervous tingling between them. He licked his bottom lip and looked back up to Ben. He was staring back down at him with a new hungry rapture, and out of no-where his hand slipped behind Brian’s neck to pull him closer. The distance between them was so small now that Brian could almost taste the saltiness of his skin. He closed his eyes and leant forward to test those full pouty lips, when he found himself almost collapsing to the floor.

For a moment Brian thought that he had somehow had too much to drink already, when he heard a familiar sneering voice. One he didn’t particularly want to hear that night.

“Oh didn’t see you down there” it said, as its friends let out a childish snigger of approval. Brian was about to say something when to his surprise Ben interrupted him.

“Oh piss off Nicolas. Why are you always acting like such a twat? What has he done to you?” he said, squaring up to him.

“Because I don’t like rich London fuckers who think they can come to our town, fuck half the population and then leave.” Nicolas replied, staring past Ben with cold eyes.

“I don’t think Brian is a rich London fucker, and anyway he’s not going to fuck half the town.” Ben said, still standing his ground defiantly.

“Oh really? It looks as though he’s made a start to me” Nicolas sneered, turning and walking off with his friends. Ben turned back to face Brian and held out his arm to steady him. The anger in his eyes had quickly been replaced by concern.

“Are you ok?” he asked, brushing a stray strand of hair out of Brian’s face.

“Yeh I’m fine. He just caught me off guard that’s all.” Brian replied quickly, letting himself be led back to the table. He sat back down and Ben leaned over towards him.

“Do you want another drink?” he asked.

“Yeh that would be great.” Brian said as he fished around in his back pocket for some money.

“Don’t worry, this one is on me” Ben replied, smiling at him before heading off the bar.

Brian sat deep in thought as he waited for Ben to return. He couldn’t believe it. The first night he managed to have a good time in ages, and some fucker ruins it. Everything had seemed so perfect before, and now he just felt like getting pissed. But he couldn’t help but keep going over Nicolas’ words. Famous charms, rich Londoner. Did he know?

He was spared the trouble of torturing his mind any further as Ben arrived back with the drinks. Brian laughed at the cocktail umbrella and cherry that had been thoughtfully slipped into his vodka red-bull, and then after deciding that he deserved a drink, downed half the glass in one go.

“Thirsty are you?” Ben asked, raising one delectable eyebrow. Brian grinned back at him.

“No, I’ve just decided I deserve to get pissed tonight” he replied, as Ben laughed.

“That’s fine, as long as its me you’re getting pissed with!” Ben said. Brian looked up at him as he sipped the rest of his drink.

“Why wouldn’t it be you?” he asked, twirling the cocktail umbrella between his fingers.

“Well there’s a lot of beautiful people here tonight..” Ben trailed off uneasily.

“And I’m sitting next to the most beautiful of them” Brian announced, waving his hands in the air and making sure he shifted ever so slightly closer. If it wasn’t so dark he would have noticed the faint pink blush that occupied his companions cheeks.

“Flattery.. but ah..” Ben’s sentence was cut short by Brian popping the cherry into his mouth. Brian took the opportunity of his silence to get to his feet.

“Right, this calls for shots!” he grinned wickedly and pranced off to the bar. Ben smiled to himself in his amazement at Brian’s energy. He was soon smiling even more broadly at the sight of Brian returning with a large bottle of pink vodka and shot glasses.

A few hours (and a lot of vodka) later, and Brian was sprawled across Ben’s lap laughing incoherently at something. He eventually managed to compose himself and sat up, eyeing the last of the vodka.

“One more?” he asked, turning to Ben enquiringly.

“No nooo I’ve had far too much” Ben shook his head as Brian pouted a little.

“Aww come on, one for the road and to finish the bottle?” he said, trying to make his case sound convincing. Ben moved his head from one side to another, as though caught in a mental conflict.

“Oh ok, fine.” He said, eventually giving up. Brian quickly poured one shot, and was just pouring the other when the bottle slipped from his hands and somehow flew across the table, soaking Ben’s face and chest in the process.

“Oh shit, fuck, I’m sorry” Brian mumbled as he leant across to try and help repair the damage. Ben muttered to himself as he unbuttoned his shirt, and Brian just stared as his chest was slowly revealed. He moved towards him, intending to try and wipe the vodka off, but somehow finding his lips across Ben’s skin. His tongue flicked out to soak up the liquid, and he slowly licked his way up his neck, trailing along his jaw. He heard Ben let out a sigh as he shifted his position and made his way towards his lips. Brian was just about to kiss him when he felt Ben’s hand gently pushing him away, and tilting his chin up so they were facing each other.

“Not here…” he said, trying to avoid Brian’s gaze, “It would set Nicolas off, and I really don’t want him ruining our night anymore”

Brian nodded and sat back, trying to clear up the mess on the table. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was nearly 2.

“Shall we make a move now? Its getting quite late” he asked, trying not to look directly at Ben, who now had his shirt done up again.

“Yeh ok” was his simple reply, and they both gathered their belongings in relative silence. They walked towards the door and out of the club, the cold air hitting them as they got outside.

Brian was just looking around for a cab when Ben grabbed his arm and swung him around so his back was against the wall. He breathed heavily across his neck and ran his hand through Brian’s hair. He stared at him for a moment, almost lost in thought, before moving his lips down to meet his. They brushed together nervously at first, as drunken limbs tried to re-arrange themselves. Ben hesitantly ran his tongue over Brian’s bottom lip and bit down gently. Brian sighed underneath him and parted his lips slightly, before pushing his tongue out to meet Ben’s. They drowned themselves in the kiss, exploring each other shyly like teenage lovers, unaware of the street and the world around them. Brian eventually broke away, pulling back slightly to look up at Ben’s half lidded gaze. He felt a thumb running over his cheek and brought his arms up around Ben’s neck.

Brian breathed a sigh of contentment as he stared up at the taller man.

“Wow..” he said, unable to think of anything else at that present time. Ben curled his lips into a smile and echoed the thought.

“Yeh, wow!” he smiled down at the beautiful creature, as it leant upwards to kiss him again. They eventually, and rather reluctantly pulled away from each other.

“Come on, we need to find a taxi” Ben said, smiling as he felt Brian's small hand clasp around his own. He simply nodded in response and cuddled himself into Ben's side, trying to extract some warmth in the cold night air.

It didn't take them long to hail a taxi, and soon they were sitting comfortably in the back seat, limbs entwined. Brian's head was beginning to feel very fuzzy from all the vodka, and he was content just to sit there clinging to Ben's chest.

“Ben?” he asked softly, more for his own pounding head than anything else.

“Yes Brian?” came the reply just above his shoulder.

“Will you come up with me?” he asked, a little shyly, but running his hand along Ben's chest to disguise that.

“What, you mean to your room?” Ben replied.

“Yeah, it would be nice wouldn't it?” Brian said, swinging his leg over so he was straddling him.

“Uhm, I don't think that’s such a good idea, considering how Marguerite feels about me” Ben said, running his hands along Brian's sides.

“Oh fuck her, come on Ben” Brian purred, leaning in to kiss him, flicking his tongue hungrily around his mouth. Ben kissed him back fervently, pulling him closer and trying to ignore the obvious stares the cab driver was giving them.

“Mmm you taste so good... but no I can't.” He said, as Brian pouted up at him.

“But I tell you what, why don't you come to mine tomorrow? I'll get a movie and cook some dinner?” he reasoned. Brian seemed to brighten up immediately.

“Ok then, it’s a date” he said, and leaned in for another kiss.

The cab journey ended too soon for Brian’s liking, and in no time at all he was grabbing his coat and bag, and giving Ben a quick goodnight kiss.

“You’ll be alright getting up to your room won’t you?” he asked concernedly. Brian nodded, and then tripped up the curb as he stumbled towards the front door. He stood for a good few minutes trying to open the door before he realised he was pulling on the window. Feeling a little embarrassed, even in his drunken state, he eventually got in the front door, and started manoeuvring the stairs. Brian giggled to himself as he remembered this was the second night he had drunkenly tried to get back to his room. But his giggling was somehow quite loud, so he clapped a hand over his mouth in an effort to keep the other guests asleep. By some chance he managed to fight his way up the stairs to the familiar door of his room. He kicked off his shoes and clothes, and sank into the warm bed for some well-deserved rest.