He didn’t want to say they’d met online as they’d ask to see his profile, and then he’d get into the whole DL thing with his friends. They would assume the worst, and get into his head– especially Kieran, who believed anyone who wasn’t out of the closet had a secret family. To be fair, he had experienced that, so it was based on his own reality. He really didn’t have the best of luck with men, so Milo couldn’t blame him for being single.
“Come on,” said Liam, who could be relentless. “Tell us about him. Are you going to see him again?”
Milo wanted to. It’s why he’d offered as he was leaving, but he knew it was unlikely. How could he feel such a strong connection to someone when he didn’t even know what the guy looked like, let alone his name? Yes, the sex had been spectacular, but there was more to it than orgasms. Although he’d thought he was going to black out with how intensely he’d cum last night. And he’d cum first, which was poor top etiquette, but being inside that tight heat, and the guy being able to take everything Milo had been willing to give, had made it impossible for him to hold back. Most guys he fucked misjudged just how hard he could fuck, and then couldn’t take him at full force. He’d held nothing back with his silver fox, and he’d taken it and responded perfectly to Milo’s dirty talk. His cock twitched, and he needed not to get hard in front of these two.
“Oh my God. You’re smiling,” said Liam. “Is Milo in love?”
“What? Of course not. It was just a one-off. Bit of tension relief. Nothing more to say.”
Milo knew from the look on Liam’s face that this conversation wasn’t done yet. Milo wasn’t sure why he felt such a pull to the mystery man, though that was not something to unpack at six o’clock on a Saturday morning. Fortunately, Kieran was in mega control-freak mode, so Liam couldn’t ask any more questions before they were being loaded up with placards, and ushered out the door. There’d be no time to think about anything else. Kieran ran through the itinerary for the day, and it was full-on. Milo could already sense that today was going to be exhausting.
As he suspected, except for a couple of people, nobody else was at the protest starting point this early. But by ten o’clock, it was a different story, and thousands surrounded them where they’d staked out a spot by Nelson’s Column. The plan was to march from Trafalgar Square, down Whitehall, and assemble outside the Houses of Parliament for speeches. There was already a heavy police presence, but that wasn’t unusual for any form of protest. More people had joined their group. Most were people Kieran worked with, who looked like they’d had little say in whether or not they attended.
Kieran was suggesting they get into a suitable position so they could be at the front of the march, but Milo wouldn’t move until Lexie was with them. There were still others who were joining them as well—namely, the people who this march was for—and Kieran was doing his usual and taking over.
“Can you shut the fuck up, Kieran?” said Hassan. “We’ll move when everyone’s here. It’s not like we’re marching formiles. It’s literally a kilometre down one road. We’re not going to miss anything, so chill the fuck out.”
Kieran looked lost for words. Milo looked at the floor, at the sky, and anywhere that wasn’t toward the drama. Even though there were thousands of people around them, their little bubble was all uncomfortably silent. Hassan usually just went along with whatever Kieran wanted for a quiet life. It was rare for him to snap, but when he did, he could be brutal. There’d been some pointed words from Kieran when Hassan had rocked up an hour earlier, looking like he’d spent the night getting dicked down. The smile had soon been wiped off Hassan’s face when Kieran had accused him of not having his priorities straight. There’d been queenie glares from each of them, so this outburst shouldn’t be a surprise.
Kieran gave Milo a pointed look as if he was expecting him to say something to Hassan. Was he crazy? He wasn’t getting involved in this, or taking a side, even if he agreed with Hassan–which was something he’d keep to himself. This march wasn’t about them. It was great they were a group of allies, but Hassan had made a valid point; they needed to wait for the others.
“What’s up, bitches?” said a familiar voice.
Milo spun around away from Kieran’s glare with a sense of relief. He pulled Lexie into a hug, which startled her, but she laughed and hugged him back. Her arrival broke the tension as everyone said their hellos. She’d brought some of her sisters to join the protest, and Milo snuck a glance at Kieran. He was smiling, but Milo had known him long enough to know he’d been hurt by what Hassan had said. Hopefully they could sort things out quickly, or this was going to be an awkward day.
Milo was exhausted after the full-on day, so when Kieran suggested they go into Soho afterwards, he wanted to decline.Milo hadn’t slept well last night, as he’d kept playing the epic fuck he’d had, with the silver fox over in his mind. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the guy all day, and had almost gone online to see if he was around for another fuck, but he didn’t want to come across as desperate.
Kieran and Hassan had made up during the day, which was good, but it also meant they’d ganged up on Milo and forced him to go out. So here he was at Madame Hoes again, but at least Hollywood Starr was down to perform tonight.
“What’s up with you?” asked Liam.
Milo looked to his left and saw his friend with a concerned look on his face.
“Just tired.”
“After the night with your mystery man?”
Milo felt his face heat. He wasn’t sure why. Not that he was shy talking about sex– it was impossible to be that way, living with these three. Was he embarrassed about the circumstances? No, he’d done nothing wrong. Or was it because he couldn’t stop thinking about a guy he wouldn’t recognise if he passed him on the street?
“Just work stuff.” That was the safest answer.
“Is the daddy making you work too hard?” said Liam with a smirk.
Milo groaned. Why had he opened his big mouth? One night, when they were on their fourth bottle of wine, he’d told his flatmates his boss was a daddy.
“Tell me about the guy you met last night. Are you not going to see him again?”
“It was a one-time thing,” said Milo. “And if I did see him again, it would just be for another fuck. He’s not the relationship kind.”
“Ah, is he one of those older gays who had a relationship in his twenties, it didn’t work out, and now he wants to fuck anything that moves and make up for lost time?”
“Not that you’re bitter about that or anything?”
Liam had been seeing an older guy last summer, who had promised him the world as he’d wooed him into bed. He’d been a senior partner at the private equity firm Liam worked at, so they could have gotten into all kinds of trouble if people found out. They’d hooked up a few times, and then Liam had seen him cosying up to one of the junior associates, so he’d fucked him off. Liam wasn’t one to do things by halves either. He’d found a new job two weeks later, put his notice in, and had gotten a twenty per cent salary uplift for his troubles at one of their biggest competitors, which had resulted in him getting garden leave and being paid to sit at home for three months. If only Milo had that kind of determination to get shit done, perhaps he would have finally published his first book, which he’d been sitting on for the last two years.
“I’m not making that mistake again,” said Liam. “No workplace romances for me. It might work out in the books, but real life is very different.”
Milo laughed. They were both big devourers of gay romance books, although Milo preferred romantasy to contemporary. That was the book he’d written. It was about an alpha wolf who was bisexual, and tradition dictated he mate with a female to make the pack stronger. Then a young wolf with no special powers stumbled into the alpha’s territory seeking refuge. It touched on first times, class struggles, and of course plenty of drama from inside and outside the pack. Liam had read it and loved it, even though he didn’t read that genre, but Milo hesitated in publishing it. He was afraid of people hating it and telling him how awful it was.
