Mike and Venno beginning

They had been for a meal and had a few glasses of wine and had managed to steer the conversation onto dares.

"Someone dared me to go into Borders with a water pistol and see how long it took for me to be chucked out."

"And how long did it take?"

"Haha - about 15 minutes. I got bored and began shooting the customers and staff. It didn't go down too well."

"Were you banned?"

"Oh yeah. For about six months!"

Mike laughed. "Is there any dare you won't do, Venno?"

"Not really. I don't get scared easily so most things I'll do." They took a monent to drink.

"Give me a dare then!" Challenged Mike (you can see where this is going can't you). Venno thought about it for a moment.

"Get me a free drink from the bar." He said, grinning.

"How much time do I get?"

"I dunno- three minutes?"

"O.K." Mike sauntered up to the bar and within about 10 seconds had got himself a free drink. He thunked it down infront of Venno and winked at him. Venno nodded, impressed.

"Very good. What's mine?"

"I'm gonna bring us back 10 years. Remember when you were about 10? You didn't really understand the whole boy/girl thing and, because we were mates, you asked me to kiss you?"

"Yeah - Rachel had asked me out hadn't she and I didn't want to admit I hadn't kissed anyone before! God..." Venno smiled at the memories.

"So. Go on. Let me see whether you've improved. Kiss me again!" Venno looked slightly taken aback. Then he smiled cheekily and shifted around the table so he didn't have to lean across it. He pondered Mike for a moment, taking in his exact position, face...mouth.

"Well go on then!" Laughed Mike.

"I'm just preparing myself!"

"God, I'm not that bad-looking am I?"

"No! You're good looking and you know it!" Shot back Venno, grinning and turning on his full-seductive mode. He brushed Mike's lips with his, teasing him, pressing his lips to the man's so he could feel the warmth. Then he buried his fingers into Mike's silky hair and kissed him fully, deeply and luxuriously, tasting the man's mouth and testing the texture of lips and tongue. He felt Mike kiss back and almost immediately turned the kiss more passionate - being merciless. Mike felt his heart beat faster. God, he wished it was for real. But no, Venno was only doing it for a dare just like any competitive guy. But he made the most of it anyway, and even moved in after he'd pulled away, following Venno's lips and grinning when he laughed at him.

"I'm that good am I?" He said, humour in his voice. Yes, you're that good, thought Mike and smiled bashfully, looking down as his hair dropped forward, glossy, over one side of his face.

"Yeah." Venno reached over to give Mike a friendly whack on the shoulder.

"Haha - don't worry, you'll get over it!"

"Thanks."

"Anyway..." The smaller man drained the last of the beer energetically, "Before we scare everyone with out behaviour I'm just gonna use the loo - then let's go!"

"O.K." Mike watched him go, the constant mask of a smile on his face and then he stared, subdued, at the golden remains of his own beer in the pub lights. How long could he hide his attraction for Venno? How long? The guy wasn't that perceptive, but he also knew him too well and it was too much of a risk to...well, spend too much time with him as they'd been doing lately and had been doing for the past 5 years.

Mind you, would that make him more suspicious? Or less? As the plan goes, of course. The best plan would be to pretend he was seeing someone.

Soon Venno was back and they wandered aimlessly down the street, smoking and chatting in an early stage of drunkeness. Soon Mike lost his nerve and when Venno suggested a round of the pubs he told him that he had to get back.

"But why?" Mike usually never had anything to get back to: he lived by himself in a flat out of town.

"I...there's someone waiting for me." He said finally, the words seeming foreign to him. It wasn't that he hadn't had any relationships since Owen (another story), it was just that they weren't the sort that Venno would...understand, to put it fairly. Venno looked so surprised that he almost walked into a bollard, his eyes wide in amazement. He looked at Mike, his mouth hanging open.

He was struck speechless.

"But...But Mike you haven't gone out with anybody in the last 5 years! Why didn't you say something man?!"

"Well, it's not that hard to believe!" Protested Mike, laughing at Venno's response to the lie.

"Well, I know, but..." Venno swung slightly on his feet, "That's great!" He enveloped Mike in a sweaty, smoky hug and Mike hugged him back, breathing in his scent and holding him as tightly as he could without worrying Venno.

"I'll see you then." Said the other man lamely, meeting Mike's eyes and looking slightly lost. Mike smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon, maybe, bye!" He raised a hand.

"Bye..." Venno nodded at him and they both turned to go their separate ways. Venno to the pub, no doubt, and Mike to a flat to spend the night alone.

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Mike had his work cut out for him, because whenever Venno remembered about Mike's 'somebody' which was about 2-3 times a week, he would ring up and ask to see 'her.'

"When am I going to meet the lucky girl?" He would say and Mike, who was out most of the times he called, would find that messages varied from "Oh yeah you're not in" to threats of leaving 10 minute long messages of singing, which he did carry out and Venno woke up to his rendition of Three days Grace and 'Home'. After this he gave in and rang Venno to arrange a meet up. He felt his heart hammer faster and he worried at his lip nervously until someone picked up. It was Rachel.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rachel, it's Mike!" He tried for 'happy'"

"Hey Mike." She did not sound anywhere close to 'happy.' She sounded moody.

"Hi. Just wondered - could you tell Venno to meet me at 1? The Gardens?"

"O.K."

"Thanks a lot!Bye!"

"Bye." Mike put the phone down feeling vaugely bemused but decided to leave the matter and ask Venno when he saw him. 1 o'clock came and Mike stood nervously in the heat of mid-summer, kitted out in a black t-shirt and jeans, beaded accessories and a shoulder bag and shades. If Venno doesn't appear soon I'm going to keel over from both heat and nervousness, he thought and fiddled distractedly with the pins on his bag.

Venno soon did appear, however, and Mike was saved from this fate. He automatically checked Venno's tank top and jeans and smiled.

"Hey Venno! How's it going?" He greeted him with genuine pleasure.

"Alright..." Replied the black-haired man, taking a swig from his water bottle, "God it's hot today isn't it?"

"I know - it's driving me crazy - d'you want to find some shade so we can concentrate?"

"Definately!" The two men trudged into the gardens and sprawled in a shady spot underneath a tree.

"So...how's the girl?" Sighed Venno after a few minutes of soaking up the coolness.

"Alright..um...she had to visit her Mum 'cos she's ill." He made up on the spur of the moment.

"Oh...ok!" There was a pause and Venno threw his compact body backwards onto the grass and stared up at the boughs of the tree.

"Hey Mike. If you're free tonight can I take you out for dinner? I haven't seen you in ages, man, and well...last time was cool and I'd like to do it again!"

Mike was leaning against the tree base, legs spread out infront of him. He looked over at Venno laid near him and tried to sound happy. This was a good thing of course but...

Venno was straight.

It meant nothing more than friendship. Then he suddenly decided to stuff that and go with the flow: If Venno wanted to take him out for dinner, then that was fine with him!

"Yeah! Of course! Where is it?"

"That," said Venno, turning his face towards Mike and tapping his finger on his nose cheekily, "Is a secret!" Mike took this in slight surprise, then burst out laughing.

"O.K Venno, then where shall I meet you, to go to this 'mystery' place?"

"The fountain. Be there at 7 or else there'll be war on."

"O.K then!" Mike felt his spirits lift and a genuine smile spread across his face.

They stayed there for some time, talking about what they had been doing and stuff. Venno pulled out his phone and sighed, glancing at the screen.

"I gotta go meet Rachel for coffee or something." He announced unenthusiastically and so they got up and headed out of the gardens.

"You and Rachel ok?" He asked him as they reached the gates and waited to cross. Venno made a face.

"Well...yeah, she's just moody at the moment and it's doing my head in!"

"Do you know what's wrong?"

"No. She's been coming out with all this crap about how I've been neglecting her."

"What you going to do?"

"Not much. Beg forgiveness and buy flowers I guess."

"O.K." They walked up to the fountain and saw Rachel. Catching the look of suppressed frustration and issues in Rachel's eyes and body language Mike played a quick greeting then made an equally quick exit. He went back to the gardens with an ice-coffee (rock!) to do a bit of thinking. But the heat got to him and he dozed. A couple of hours later he woke to find very little had changed. People were still lazing about, chatting and relaxing with their friends and lovers around him. He checked the time: 5:10. Hmmm...that left him plenty of time to go home and get ready. He drew himself groggily to his feet and plodded out of the gardens. He made his way to the bus stop and caught the next bus. When he reached his flat he watched some bad Saturday night TV then went to have a shower. Towel wrapped around his waist, he wandered round, trying to decide what to wear. He didn't really own much of a variety. He put on some clean jeans, green t-shirt and  brand new loose purple jumper he'd only worn once. The weather had cooled down quite a lot and he didn't want to freeze on the walk back.

I'd better set off, Mike thought, seeing that it was 6:30 - otherwise I won't get there in time. He grabbed his bag and did just that.