The Valet Ch. 04

"Good to see you!" he said, grinning.

"Thanks Evan. This is a really nice cafe," Jason replied taking his seat and trying to ignore his cock's response to Evan's tight hug.

"Yeah, it's a favourite of mine, especially since it's not a student haunt."

Catching Jason's confused glance, he elaborated, "After three years at uni, the hype starts to wear off...I need more intelligent company sometimes, even if that means sitting alone in this cafe."

"So you consider yourself to be intelligent company?" said Jason, raising his eyebrows.

Evan laughed, a deep rumbling chuckle that did nothing to ease the strain Jason was feeling in his crotch.

"You can judge for yourself," Evan replied with a mischievous smile.

After they ordered, with Evan nodding approvingly at Jason's request for the full English breakfast, the conversation flowed smoothly. They spoke a lot about rowing, naturally, and Jason learned that Evan would most likely leave the club at the end of the year to focus on his Medicine degree. They discussed families - Evan came from a large family with lots of siblings and Jason was amused by his love-hate relationship with them.

"I only have one sister," Jason explained, "so we're incredibly close. Even though she's living in Spain with her boyfriend at the moment, we still speak almost everyday".

"Do you have relatives in Spain?" Evan asked.

"Yeah, that's where my mum's from so her whole family is out there. We spent all our summers there when we were young."

"That explains your gorgeous complexion," said Evan, running his eyes appreciatively over Jason's face and exposed forearms. Jason blushed and Evan laughed.

"Don't tell me you've never heard that compliment before!"

"I have, but usually from girls so it doesn't mean a lot."

"I'm sure a lot of guys think it but are too shy to say it. Personally, I think all beauty should be appreciated whether it's in a guy or a girl."

"Does that mean...you're bi?" Jason asked hesitantly.

Evan smiled and nodded.

"I've played both fields, one might say, but recently I've found myself preferring the male court. Girls just have too much drama you know?" Something like pain or grief flitted across Evan's face.

"Recently ended a long relationship?" Jason asked gently. He desperately wanted to reach across the table and take Evan's hand in his own but he wasn't sure how Evan would react so he held back.

Evan nodded in response to Jason's question and said, "Yeah. She was always worried that with my bisexual tendencies she would never be enough for me. But ironically we ended it because she cheated on me, not the other way round. We were together for a year and I was really starting to think she might be the one for me. Turns out I was wrong."

Jason could no longer hold back after hearing the sadness in his friend's voice and he stretched out and gave Evan's hand a small squeeze.

"You're better off now Evan," he said reassuringly. "She's stupid for not realising what an amazing guy she was letting go of."

Evan looked up into Jason's eyes and smiled, and Jason felt his heart flutter. He smiled back and took his hand away as Evan said,

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to use you as my agony aunt or anything. You're just a good listener."

"Now that's a compliment I do hear, but again, usually from the girls," Jason smirked.

Evan threw his head back and laughed and Jason was gripped by the desire to lean forward and kiss the creamy exposed skin on his neck. Evan didn't help matters when he suddenly asked,

"So, now you've heard about my woeful love life, tell me about yours."

"There's not much to tell," said Jason honestly. He thought back over the summer, when his only action had been with Alex, and he didn't even know how to begin describing that. There had been a couple of one night stands which were just a blur in his memory, and his 4-month relationship with a high school sweetheart which had ended before the summer when Jason had decided to move to London and his lover had gone to Scotland. He told Evan all of this as succinctly as possible, leaving out only the part about Alex. He wasn't quite ready to share that with anyone, and wasn't sure Alex would appreciate Jason outing him to a stranger.

When he finished, Evan gave him a sexy grin and said, "So you're single then."

"Free as a bird," Jason grinned back.

"Well that makes two of us."

Just then, the waitress appeared to clear away their plates and after checking that Jason didn't want anything else, Evan paid the bill.

"You didn't have to do that," Jason protested as they left the cafe.

"I know, but I wanted to." Evan gave Jason a warm smile that had his heart melting like butter and they began to walk back towards Jason's halls.

"Where do you live?" he asked Evan. "I don't want you to go out of your way."

"Relax," said Evan, taking Jason's hand and squeezing lightly. "I'm heading over to the library anyway - got some work to do."

Jason might have asked what was so important that it had to be done on a Sunday but he was completely distracted by the feeling of Evan's warm, strong, hand firmly encasing his. It wasn't a romantic clasp but nor was it entirely platonic, as was proven when Evan began to sensually rub his thumb along the back of Jason's knuckles. Jason tried to focus on the act of walking because his legs felt like they were turning to jelly and by the time they reached his halls, he was practically quivering with need. A glance at Evan told him he wasn't alone in this, the older boy's beautifully pale skin was flushed a soft pink and his pupils were slightly dilated as he returned Jason's glance. As they reached the steps, Jason turned to face Evan.

"Thanks for today. I really enjoyed it. I- "

He was abruptly cut off from finishing his sentence when Evan suddenly leant in and captured Jason's lips between his own. Jason immediately responded, moulding his lips against Evan's soft ones, pressing harder and letting his tongue dart out to taste the other boy. Evan gasped slightly and Jason took advantage of the opening to thrust his tongue all the way into Evan's mouth and begin exploring. Evan caught up quickly, duelling with Jason's tongue, probing and pushing into his mouth at every opportunity. Jason felt as though his body was burning and just as he sought to pull them closer with his free hand, he heard a wolf whistle and they hastily but reluctantly pulled apart. Evan was even more flushed and Jason smiled as they rested their foreheads together.

"You're adorable when you blush," he smiled. He stroked Evan's cheek lightly and Evan leant into the touch.

"That was incredible Jason," he breathed.

"Are you sure you have to go to the library?" said Jason, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Evan pulled away laughing and hit him lightly on the arm.

"Yes I am. But let's do this again soon?"

"Definitely," Jason nodded. "And next time it's on me."

Evan rolled his eyes and murmured "masochist" before giving Jason an all too brief peck on the lips and sauntering away. Jason watched him go, feeling as though he was floating in a bubble of happiness.

That Wednesday, Jason decided to go to sports night again. He'd only been once since his initiation into the boat club, and although it had been a lot gentler he'd still woken up the next day with a dreadful hangover. That was enough to deter him from going again but this week he had an ulterior motive; he wanted to see Evan again. They had been texting back and forth since their brunch on Sunday, and the messages were sometimes friendly and sometimes flirty. But Jason was desperate to see Evan again to continue the physical part of what they'd started on Sunday.

As he walked into the bar, he was hit by the noise of the crowd and the stench of beer and sweat. He almost turned around and walked back out but then he caught sight of Evan's broad shoulders and dirty blond hair and his heart leapt. He stopped by the bar to buy a beer and then made his way over to where Evan was standing with a few other boat club members. They all greeted him with grins and man-hugs; apparently his performance in the winning race against Kings had won him favour with the team, although there was a fair amount of ribbing about his absence from previous sports nights.

"You do realise you're going to have to make up for it tonight?" asked Tom, a team mate in the year above him. He indicated the drink in Jason's hand. "That, my friend, is the first of many."

Luckily though, Jason wasn't the centre of attention for too long as the music was turned up and the girls teams began to filter Into the bar. The evening turned rowdy quickly; although Jason ensured that his second pint was never quite finished so no one had an excuse to buy him another, everyone else seemed to be trying to drink the bar dry. Even Evan looked pretty drunk - not that Jason was watching. He socialised with everyone, friends, acquaintances and complete strangers until a few hours later when he finally spotted Evan standing alone by the bar.

"Hey," Jason murmured in his ear, approaching him from behind. Evan leapt a mile in the air.

"Christ Jason, don't scare me like that!" he slurred, swaying unsteadily on his feet and gazing at Jason with hazy eyes.

"Wow you're drunk," said Jason, stating the obvious.

"Noo, I'm not!" protested Evan, blinking innocently. Jason had to hold back from wrapping Evan in his arms, he looked so damn cute.

"Ok, how about we get you home," he said, taking Evan firmly by the arm and guiding him towards the door.

"Your home or mine?"

Dammit! Evan had asked it innocently but Jason suddenly realised he didn't know where Evan lived and he really didn't want to leave the other boy to get home alone in his current state. He glanced around the bar but couldn't see any of the other team mates.

"Evan, where do you live?" Jason asked.

"Not telling!" Evan replied in a sing-song voice. After several minutes of coaxing and Evan becoming more and more childish, Jason gave up.

"Right, we're going to my home," he declared, and frog marched Evan out of the bar. The walk back to his halls would usually have taken him 15 minutes, but took almost double the time as Evan insisted on star gazing, waiting for lights to turn red before crossing roads even though there were no cars around at this time, and at one point even attempting to lie down on the ground because he was tired. Jason hauled him across his shoulder and practically dragged him the rest of the way, and was exhausted when they reached his room. He unlocked the door and they fell inside, Jason ungracefully depositing Evan on the floor. He glanced over at Wang who appeared to still be asleep thankfully and then back at Evan, who was gazing around curiously.

"This is your home?" he asked, blinking owlishly.

"Yes," said Jason, wondering what on earth to do now. Evan stood up and swayed over to the bed.

"Your bed?" he asked, and before waiting for a reply, collapsed onto it. Well, that settled that apparently. Jason pulled Evan's socks and shoes off and debated removing his clothes too - for comfort obviously - but then decided against it. He yanked the blanket out from under the 6ft tall guy, which was no easy feat, and draped it over Evan who was drifting off to sleep.

"Jason?"

"Hmm?"

"Come here please."

Jason obliged, walked over to the head of the bed and leant down to hear what Evan wanted to say. Suddenly the other boy's lips were on his and his arms were pulling Jason down into the bed. Jason pulled back before he lost his balance and loudly whispered, "Evan no!"

Evan pouted and looked up at him through long lashes. "Don't you want me?"

"Of course I do. But not like this."

"At least come and hold me until I fall asleep." Evan looked at him with pleading eyes.

Even though he knew it was a bad idea, Jason felt his resolve weakening as he looked at Evan. The boy just looked so cute snuggled under the blankets with his puppy dog face peering out at Jason. Besides, Jason didn't really fancy sleeping on the floor.

"Ok, two minutes," he said, giving Evan a quick peck on the cheek. He dashed into the bathroom and got ready for bed, brushing his teeth and changing into his pyjamas in record time. When he got back to the room, he thought Evan had already fallen asleep but as he climbed into bed behind him, he felt Evan shift, pressing back against Jason's body and he sighed happily.

"Feel so good," Evan murmured contentedly and was snoring within seconds.

The next morning when Jason awoke, it took him a few moments to recall the events of last night and who was in bed with him. He slowly opened his eyes and gazed down at Evan who was still snoring softly. Jason glanced at the clock, it was already 8 and he had lectures at 9. He gently eased out of the bed, not wanting to wake Evan, and headed for the shower. By the time Jason was ready to leave, Evan had still not awoken. Jason dropped a soft kiss on his forehead and then left quietly.

As he walked to uni, he sent Evan a text telling him to feel free to use the shower and borrow some clothes, and offered to meet for lunch if he was up for it. He didn't want Evan to think something had happened last night, or worse that Jason had just walked out on him and didn't want to face 'the morning after'. At around 10 o clock, his phone buzzed with a reply: Lunch sounds good, meet you at the campus cafe at 1pm.

When Jason walked into the cafe, Evan was already there. He was wearing one of Jason's t-shirts and its snug fit highlighted his athletic body. Jason grinned as he sat down at the table.

"You look good."

Evan frowned and cut straight to the point. "What happened last night?"

"You don't remember?"

"No...Did we...?" Evan trailed off and as Jason remained silent, his face turned a deep shade of crimson. "God I'm so sorry Jason, I don't usually get so drunk, please don't take it personally that I don't remember last night, I'm sure it was amazing but I just..."

Jason let Evan ramble on for a few more minutes, enjoying his discomfort and cute blushing before he put him out of his misery.

"Relax," he said, taking Evan's hand in his own. "Nothing happened. You got drunk at the bar, wouldn't tell me where you lived, I took you back to mine and put you to bed. That's it."

A look of confusion crossed Evan's features. "What? But you said..."

"I didn't say anything. You just assumed. And you know what they say about assuming - it makes an A-S-S out of U and M-E."

"You bastard!" Evan exclaimed but he was also grinning. "You let me ramble on for ages! So nothing happened?"

"Nope. Not for lack of you trying though."

Evan groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Oh god. I'm so sorry Jason. I swear, I really don't get so drunk normally. I hope I wasn't a complete idiot?"

"You weren't," Jason assured him. "It was cute. Now let's eat, I'm starving."

When Jason got back to his room that evening he found Wang throwing his belongings into a suitcase.

"Hey, is everything ok?"

Wang whirled to face him, anger marring his features. "Are you gay?"

Jason was nonplussed at Wang's tone and behaviour, and then realised he was probably annoyed at Jason having company last night, even though nothing had happened. He decided to answer Wang's question and then apologise.

"Yeah I am gay. Look, if this is about last night then I'm sorry. My friend was drunk."

Wang began to shake his head and Jason stopped talking, waiting for an explanation.

"If I'd known you were gay I would never have accepted to share a room with you. It is disgusting. I have spoken to the university, they have found me different accommodation."

He zipped up his suitcase and with a final glance around the room, he marched out with his bags in tow. Jason was still staring dumbstruck after him when the room door burst open and Megan came in.

"I just saw Wang walking out with his stuff - what happened?!"

Jason told her the whole story and Megan shook her head.

"What a homophobic jerk! He's the one who's disgusting. And hey, you get the whole room to yourself now. Next time Evan stays over you won't have to be quiet."

She waggled her eyebrows suggestively and Jason couldn't help but laugh.

For the next week or so, Jason and Evan met for lunch almost every day if their timetables permitted. They also saw each other at practice twice a week and Jason found himself growing more and more attracted to the captain. They had shared a few more kisses but nothing else, and they hadn't even defined their relationship. Jason wasn't sure if they were actually going out or if it was just a casual thing.

On the last Friday before they broke up for reading week, Evan invited Jason out to dinner.

"Like a date?" Jason had asked.

"Yeah, if you want," Evan had replied smiling.

The dinner was lovely; as always Jason enjoyed Evan's company and also noticed than the other boy seemed to be complimenting him more than usual. As they waited for dessert, Evan cleared his throat.

"What are your plans for reading week?"

"I'm going to Spain with my mum to visit my sister. God knows I could use a break from this miserable English weather!"

"Oh. That sounds nice," said Evan but Jason didn't miss the look of disappointment that flashed across his face.

"Why do you ask?"

Evan cleared his throat again. "I was thinking of heading up to the lakes for a few days and was hoping you might come with me."

He drew a deep breath and then looked Jason directly in the eye. "I really like you Jason. I mean, we get on so well, we share the same hobbies, and I'm definitely attracted to you as I'm sure you know. So I want to know if we can make something of this, us. And I'm not talking about friends with benefits. I want to give us a real chance – attempt a proper relationship."

Jason tried to keep the surprise from showing on his face as Evan spoke - of course he wanted to explore what they had between them but it sounded like Evan wanted a lot more than Jason was willing to give at this stage.

Evan must have seen something in his expression because he added, "you don't have to give me an answer right now. Think about it over reading week."

"Thanks," said Jason weakly. "I will think about it."

The rest of the meal passed quickly if slightly awkwardly and when they kissed goodbye, Jason couldn't help but wonder if it would be for the last time.

He knew he was attracted to Evan but he wasn't sure if he was ready to commit to a proper relationship. There was also a nagging doubt in his mind about the fact that Evan had just got out of a long term relationship - with a girl, no less - and his feelings towards Jason might be partly related to that. At least Evan had given him a week to think about it, and Jason sighed knowing that reading week was no longer going to be as peaceful as he'd hoped.

After a week of sunshine, beaches, ice cream and the loving attention of his mum and sister, Jason was ready to return to university. He wasn't, however, ready to face Evan. He had spoken about the issue with his sister and her very Hispanic advice had been, "just follow your heart darling".

As Jason pulled his suitcase into his room and began to unpack, he heard a key turning in his door lock. Wondering if Wang had changed his mind after all, Jason turned to face his roommate but suddenly found himself gazing into deep pools of bright blue; eyes that had been haunting his dreams since summer.

"Alex?!"