Making it Personal (14 page)

Blake snapped out of his internal wanderings. “Dave, I think that’s a lovely idea. Eating out or your place?” Dave had an apartment above his studio. “My place. And I’ll order in. You know what my cooking is like.”

Blake snorted. He and Dave had shared accommodation at university, and he still had vivid memories of Dave’s first cookery ‘experiments’.

“Ooh, now you’ve
definitely
sold me. I’ll be sure to bring the Gaviscon tablets. Just in case.” He chuckled as Dave gave out a low growl. “What time?”

“Seven? Think you two can manage to tear yourselves away from that hive of industry you slave away in?”

Blake chortled. “Yeah, I think we can manage that. This assumes, of course, that Will says yes.”

“Do your best. I need to see you both.”
Now Blake was
really
intrigued.
“Mind if I use your bathroom?” Will asked.

“It’s along the corridor on the right,” Dave directed him. “I’ll have coffee ready by the time you come back.” Will smiled warml s smt’s aly as he exited the kitchen. Dave sidled over to where Blake was stuffing the Chinese takeout boxes into the trash. “I like him, Blake,” Dave said quietly. “Seriously. He’s intelligent, thoughtful, and sexy as hell, even to a straight like me.” He locked eyes with Blake. “You can’t let this guy get away.”

Blake groaned softly. “That’s right, rub it in.”

Dave placed his hand on Blake’s arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think.” He stared at the door where Will had stood seconds earlier.

“Er, Dave? Coffee?” Blake’s voice was tinged with amusement.

Dave visibly shook himself. “Sorry. It’s just I’ve never seen you so damn happy.” He let out a growl. “That bitch. Just don’t invite me to the wedding. I’ll strangle the cow.” He went to the worktop and began dumping coffee into the paper filter, making small discontented noises. Blake would have been amused but he was too busy trying to push down the feelings which rose to the surface on hearing Dave’s words. Letting Will go was the last thing he wanted to do. But Dave mentioning the wedding brought the reality of the situation home to him in a cold rush of fear. How much longer did he have Will to himself? Not long enough.

“I can’t smell the coffee yet.” Will was standing in the doorway, arms folded. “You two have been gassing, haven’t you?” His eyes twinkled. He turned to Dave. “Thank you, by the way, for the invitation. It’s been great to meet you. And I love your work.” Dave gave him a puzzled look. “Your prints? In Blake’s apartment?”

Dave’s brow cleared, and then his cheeks flushed. “Funnily enough, I was thinking about those prints only recently.”

Blake eyed Dave speculatively. “A
ha
,
now
we’re getting to the point of the invitation. Come on. I knew you had an ulterior motive.” He winked at Will. Dave looked decidedly guilty. “Let’s go and sit down in the lounge with our coffee, and I’ll come clean.” Will’s eyebrows lifted and he gave Blake a questioning glance. Blake shrugged, picked up his coffee mug, and followed Dave out of the kitchen. The three men took their seats, Dave in an armchair and Blake and Will on the sofa. Blake liked the fact that Will leaned into him immediately. It was nice to sit there and feel the warmth radiating from his body. He draped an arm around him and pulled him closer.
God, this feels good
.

Dave studied his coffee mug for a few seconds and then looked at Will.

“Just so you know, I do mostly portrait work
—
graduation photos, family shots, weddings
—
although I have to be honest, the wedding side of things has dried up a little lately. Not really surprising.” He took a long drink of his coffee, his expression gloomy. “In these recession-hit times, the happy couple are more likely to fork out for the dress and the reception, but get a talented friend to take their pictures instead of hiring a photographer.” “Yeah, I can understand that,” Will said, giving Dave a sympathetic look.

“So, I decided to drum up some business by branching out into a new market.” Dave cleared his throat. “I, er, took out an ad in GT and Attitude magazines.”

Will whistled. “Gay Times mag? Attitude? Not going to ask how much
that
set you back.” He pulled a face. Blake was impressed with Dave’s initiative.

Dave shrugged. “It was a one-off. I thought I’d see if anything came of it. If it was a waste of time, I wouldn’t do soulpan
it again. But with more and more gay couples getting married—
sorry, entering
civil partnerships—
I figured there had to be some business there. And if a client wanted something more… intimate, I could do that, too.” He indicated Blake with a flick of his head. “I mean, just look at the ones I took of
him
. If I could cope with those, I can cope with anything.” He chuckled.
Will’s eyes gleamed appreciatively. “Dave, they’re beautiful. But I have to ask you something. However did you get him to agree to doing them in the first place? And get him to jerk off for you on camera?” His hand snuck across to stroke leisurely across Blake’s belly, and Blake could have purred with pleasure.

Dave guffawed. “I can tell you that in one word
—
tequila! And as for getting His Majesty over there relaxed enough, I pulled up some gay porn on my laptop. Didn’t take long for
that
to work.” He stared hard at Blake. “And let’s not forget here exactly
whose
idea that shot was.”

Blake’s cheeks were red hot. “Okay, enough of that.” He gave Dave a meaningful stare. “I’m assuming something came of your ad, or you wouldn’t be sharing with us now.”

Dave straightened. “You’d be correct. A month went by and I heard nothing, so I was about to write it off as an expensive whim, when I got a phone call. A guy wanted a set of prints doing for his apartment and he requested to see my portfolio. So he came to the studio, and after some humming and hawing, I finally got it out of him that he wanted some intimate portraits, definitely sensual, but I could veer toward erotic if the mood took me. I showed him your prints, Blake, and he loved them.”

“Hardly surprising
—
they’re beautiful,” Blake said loyally.

“Which brings me to the point of your being here.” Dave put down his mug on the coffee table and faced them. “I want you to pose for me. Both of you.” Blake opened his mouth immediately to protest but Dave plunged ahead. “Just like before
—
no head shots
—
simply the two of you being yourselves in an intimate setting.”

Will tilted his head.
“What
setting?” He was clearly intrigued.

Dave grinned and crooked his finger, “Come with me.” Will unfolded himself from the sofa and extended a hand to Blake. Dave led them out of the living room and down the stairs into the photography studio. Blake had been there many times, once as an observer while Dave had been working. He glanced at Dave’s main work area. The large white backdrop was already set up, but in front of it on the floor were piles of white pillows and a white sheet. The lights were on and there were steps placed around the makeshift bed, obviously for when Dave wanted to take shots from a higher angle. Dave’s camera was on his work table, along with his filters and lenses.

Will stared. “Oh wow.” He turned to Blake, eyes shining. “I want to do this.” He was almost vibrating with excitement. There was no way Blake would disappoint him when he was clearly so eager. Dave was watching the pair of them, a hopeful expression on his face.

“Okay,” Blake said at last. “Let’s do this.” Dave’s woot of joy made him chuckle. “How do you want us?”

Dave leered. “Nude
—
and under that sheet.” Then his face cleared and he blushed. “There’s a screen over there if you’re shy about undressing sut

Will snorted. “Yeah, right, like
that’s
gonna be an issue.” He grinned at Blake and waggled his eyebrows. “Let’s get naked, babe.”

Blake laughed as Will grabbed the hem of Blake’s sweater and began to pull it up roughly, his face creased into a joyful smile. Will’s mood was infectious. Blake got in on the act and the two men stripped each other, laughing and giggling, especially when Will tried to tickle Blake’s ribs. Blake’s peripheral vision caught Dave already clicking away quietly with his digital SLR camera, but Blake shut him out and concentrated on his lover. Nude, they fell onto the pillows, laughing. Will pulled the sheet up over their heads and reached for him, taking his mouth in an eager kiss, Blake responding immediately.

“Hey! Not fair! Get out from under there, you two!”

Dave’s amused exclamation made Blake laugh. Will chuckled but then pushed the sheet down, revealing their upper bodies. He pulled a face at Dave. “You’re no fun.”

Dave shook his head. “I might have known you’d be trouble. Okay, you two
—
pretend I’m not here. I’m just going to take as many shots as I can, either from down here or up there.” He indicated the steps with a wave of his camera. “I’m not going to direct you, unless I see something that would look really good. Talk to each other, touch each other. Just be yourselves.”

Blake could do that.

He pulled Will to him and kissed him, winding his arms around Will’s body and holding him close. Then he lost all track of time. They laughed quietly, rolling around on the pillows. They lay next to each other, hands reaching for each other, caressing each other. Now and again Dave issued a quietly worded request, but for the most part Blake was unaware of his friend’s presence. It was a magical feeling, as if time had somehow been suspended, trapping them in this bubble where only the two of them existed. No Melissa. No farewells on the horizon. Just him and Will.

It was a shock when Dave’s voice pierced through the quiet euphoria.

 

“Okay, guys, that’s it.”

Blake stared in surprise. “Already?” He didn’t want to move. And then Will looked at him with an expression which told Blake in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t over, merely postponed until he got Blake into bed. Will smiled. Yeah, he could tell Blake had gotten the message. Blake’s cock certainly had. He was so hard, he ached.

“Already?” Dave echoed. “I’ve been taking shots for the last hour.” He chuckled. “You were obviously enjoying yourselves too much.” He grabbed his camera and memory cards. “You two get dressed and I’ll meet you upstairs. I want to load these onto my laptop right away.” He left them to it and headed for the stairs.
Will kissed Blake, running his hands down Blake’s spine to cup his arse, pulling Blake against him so that he could feel Will’s prominent erection against his own. “You and me. Tonight. Making love. For hours.” His voice was husky.

Blake caught his breath. It was the first time Will had used those words to describe their coupling. “I like the sound of that.” He pushed at Will’s lips with his tongue, and Will responded eagerly, giving him entrance. They kissed passionately for several minutes, until Will pushed him away with a loud groan.

“This isn’t good. We’re never gonna get dressed at this rate.”

Blake chortled. “You take your time. I’ll get dressed and go on up there so he doesn’t think we’re up to somethi sup g, as if ng.” He arched his eyebrows. “Tempting though that thought is, right now.”

Will laughed. “Later. Promise.”
Blake’s laugh echoed his. He pulled on his clothes, and carrying his trainers and socks, headed up the stairs to Dave’s apartment. He found Dave sitting at his dining table, staring intently at his laptop screen. Dave looked deep in thought. As Blake approached him, he looked up, startled.

“Sorry, I was miles away. I was just checking out some photos I took of this couple.”

 

“What was so engrossing?” Something in Dave’s expression piqued Blake’s interest.

Dave let out a sigh. “Sometimes
—
not often, I’ll admit, but once in a while
—
I take a photo that blows me away by how much it reveals. The camera captures more than I’d intended.” He glanced down at the screen. “This is such a photo. I look at these two people and when I see the emotion I’ve caught in one brief click… Wow.”

“Can I see it?” Blake couldn’t contain his curiosity.

Dave smiled. “Sure.” He turned the laptop to face Blake
—
and waited.

Blake was shocked into stillness. It was him and Will, both lying on their backs, Will’s head resting on Blake’s shoulder. Will was craning his neck to stare up at Blake. What made the breath catch in his throat was the expression in Will’s eyes. Love shone out of them. It was unmistakable.

“You see it, don’t you.” Dave’s quiet statement crept out into the silence which had ensued.

Blake nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from the screen. Then he studied his own image and his throat tightened. The expression in his eyes could have been the mirror image of Will’s.

“I want this photo,” Blake whispered. He was dimly aware of Dave nodding. Finally he broke free of the photo’s spell. “Can you do me a print, just like the others?”

“Sure.” Dave shoved a USB flash drive into one of the ports and clicked on the photo. He took out the flash drive and handed it to Blake. “But in the meantime, here’s a copy of it.”

Blake took it absently, his eyes drawn back to the screen. The sound of Will approaching had him looking away hastily. Dave caught his mood and snapped down the laptop, just as Will entered the room. Blake gave Will a relaxed smile, trying to ignore his racing heartbeat. “It’s getting late. How about you and I head home?” The word stuck in his throat. Home.

Will nodded. “Did the photos turn out all right?” he asked Dave.

“Just beautiful. I’ll let you see when I’ve cut off your heads—if you get my meaning.” Dave smirked. He glanced at his watch. “And now you two need to get out of here. It’s already past my bedtime.”

Blake rolled his eyes. “I see how it is. Now you’ve got what you wanted, you’re casting us off like an old shoe.” He loved teasing Dave.
“Yep.” Dave folded his arms and grinned. “But thanks for that. You two are very photogenic.” He held out his hand to Will. “It was a real pleasure to meet you, Will.”

Will shook his hand. “Same here.” He turned to Blake. “Okay, you, take me home.”

Blake speared him with a look. “On one condition.” Will’s eyebrows lifted. “That you don’t grope me again as we go through my building. Dominic’s the doorman on tonight, and the last time he was on late night duty, you kept touching my arse as we walked to the elevator. He didn’t know wher st on tonige to look.”