Naked Hero - The Journey Away

away from the public glare. I don’t want you going out anyway – you need to stay here and relax.”
    “But I want new gear!” insisted Lewis – his pig-headed obstinacy coming back to the fore. “There’s no way I’m turning up tomorrow in my usual kit. Not now. I’d sooner play naked, if that’s what you’d prefer. Can you imagine the headlines if I won? A Naked Hero makes the semi-final!”
    Jim glared at him, not at all amused. “Aye, I’m sure the press would love it – you debasing yourself to the level of your so-called friend by baring your arse for everyone to see.”
    Lewis was about to snap back in Lee’s defence and kick off a right old barny, but thankfully Fiona got in there first and nipped it in the bud. “I’ll have a look in the shops for you, Lewis. Jim can take me out in the car. Mike can come along as well. Then you and Lee can have some time to yourselves. Isn’t that right, Jim?”
    “Oh aye, we’ll do that,” replied Jim grudgingly, realising he had snookered himself on this one. It was turning into a funny old day, and it had still a long way to run.
    Lee arrived to a barrage of photographs and questions – the paparazzi delighted to see him again. He gamely ignored them and made for the door which Lewis answered a few moments later. Inside he let out a long held breath.
    “Don’t tell me you were expecting anything else?” asked Lewis, with a grin on his face that screamed of forgiveness.
    Lee looked at him and felt his knees buckle. Intuition told him they were alone at last, something that Lewis had perhaps contrived. Cold calculation told him to behave, but the snake in his pants hissed a different story, not having seen any action for a while. Electricity frazzled, pheromones raged, testosterone tore at a healthy libido in a moment of pure lust.
    The energy was felt just as strongly by Lewis. And in another dimension they surrendered to the passion, lunging at each other, tearing at clothes, devouring flesh in a frenzy of consummation, hard fast and dirty on the floor by the door. But a moment’s hesitation was all it took for cold calculation to win the first round. Lee sheepishly grinned and said, “Sorry about last night.” And that was reminder enough to calm them both down.
    “It’s all right ,” replied Lewis. “It was probably for the best. Let’s grab a drink and go out for a chat.
    Probably for the best! That had an ominous ring. Lee was suddenly on guard, torn between the objective he’d set and the animal hunger that still raged within him. But he accepted with good grace, battening down the hatches on the torrent of emotion, fully intent on executing his new plan.
    Out by the pool they sat in the shade like the day before – a similar setting but a different agenda. The energy came with them and hovered like a tension as each man went through in his head the lines he had prepared.
    “You’re not too angry with me I hope,” said Lee as an opener.
    “I was bloody furious!” snapped Lewis before a smile cut his face. “But don’t worry – you’re forgiven... As I said – it was probably for the best.”
    Lee didn’t like this at all, even though cold calculation tended to agree. But he stuck to his guns, determined to see this through - stuck out his chin and asked for the killer blow. “Sounds like you’ve got something to tell me, Lewis.”
    Lewis took a deep breath. This wouldn’t be easy, but he ’d made up his mind. He gave a wry smile as he looked Lee in the eyes, stunned that he was actually going to say this. “I think we need to talk about what’s going on here, Lee. We’ve been circling around it for a while now – a sort of will we, won’t we. You know I like you. I really like you, and that’s putting it mildly. And I keep wondering if something’s ever going to happen...” he paused to let out a half-hearted chuckle. “Fiona has certainly gone out of her way to make it possible – dragging everyone into town so we’d have the house to ourselves...”
    “That was kind of her!” joked Lee, assuming this was the promised payback. He found himself hoping that it wouldn’t be in vain, even though that flew in the face of what his cool calculating brain was saying.
    “It was indeed!” chuckled Lewis, this time with more ease, realising how ridiculous this was going to sound, but sure of the necessity. He gazed at Lee and smiled, seeing his magnificence, inhaling his musk, absorbing the infuriating