Love Worth Pursuing

by Max Hudson

  Steve paused to think. “Check the suitcase, that little pocket inside the top.”

  As Euan got off him, Steve rolled to his side a bit to watch.

  “Turn back over, head down, butt up, and wait for me,” Euan said.

  Steve did as he was told, feeling at once embarrassed and excited. He could hear Euan moving around behind him, then feel the bed lean as Euan climbed back on.

  Euan’s wet fingers slid against Steve’s hole, and Steve shivered a little at the cold touch.

  Euan leaned over Steve, his back against Steve’s chest, his lips brushing against Steve’s ear. “Shush, just relax,” he said.

  Steve felt Euan’s fingers entering him slowly. He pushed back, encouraging them in, trying to guide them until-

  Steve moaned loudly as he felt Euan pressing on his prostate. Euan began to gently massage Steve’s sweet spot, moving his fingers in and out as he did, stretching Steve gradually.

  “You like that?” Euan asked.

  “Yes,” Steve gasped, pushing himself back harder.

  “You want more?”

  “Please,” Steve insisted.

  Euan began to slide in a third finger, twisting slowly, expanding Steve a little more, pushing in deeper again and pressing Steve’s prostate with every thrust. It felt amazing, but Steve wanted more. He wanted Euan.

  “Please, put it in,” Steve asked.

  Euan nuzzled Steve’s neck. “Sure thing,” he whispered, pulling his fingers out.

  Steve felt Euan’s hard cock pressing against him, wet, slick and throbbing. Steve pushed back, feeling Euan slowly begin to enter him. He had slightly overcalculated how ready three fingers had made him. Euan’s thick cock felt too much as it began to slide in.

  “It’s all right,” Euan said. “Relax, I’ll be gentle.”

  Euan grasped Steve’s shoulder for stability and began pushing in slowly, pulling back just enough to ease the resistance, gradually filling Steve. Although it was so thick, Steve found his excitement overwhelming his nerves, and he arched his back, pushing his hips back against Euan, feeling Euan’s hard cock finally pushing against his sweet spot.

  Steve gasped and pushed back harder, biting down as he felt Euan sliding back and driving back in again, hitting Steve’s prostate over and over with perfect aim.

  Unable to wait any longer, Steve slipped his hand between his own legs and gripped his cock. He was harder than he had ever been, and the relief from feeling his hand squeezing himself was immense.

  Euan slipped his hand down, gently prying Steve’s hand from his own cock and replacing it with Euan’s own strong hand, still slick with lube. Holding still in one place, one hand on Steve’s shoulder, the other around Steve’s penis, Euan moved Steve, guiding his body back and forth.

  When Steve was pulled back, he felt Euan’s cock slamming against his sweet spot and Euan’s hand rub on the head of his cock. When Euan pushed him forward, Steve felt all of Euan’s thickness slide out, leaving only the tip inside, as Euan’s hand covered and squeezed Steve’s shaft.

  Out of control, Steve let himself be moved and handled like a toy, fucked and stroked with each movement, back and forth, harder and faster each time.

  Euan was moaning now, and Steve could feel Euan’s cock swell even more, throbbing with need. The sounds and sensations were almost too much for Steve. He tried to move, but Euan’s grasp and control were too powerful, and all he could do was squirm and bite the bed sheet as he was fucked mercilessly.

  Steve felt himself draw closer, and knew he couldn’t hold back any longer. With a deep groan, he felt the pressure release, his cock throb hard, and his seed filling Euan’s hand. Euan moaned and thrust in one last time, his cock throbbing as Steve’s hole clenched around it, his juices pumping into Steve, hot and wet.

  Euan released Steve’s cock and leaned in, gently covering Steve’s neck and shoulder with little bites, panting and gasping in an ecstatic frenzy. The wave of pleasure which embraced them both withdrew, and Euan grew heavier on top of Steve. With a gentle pull and a slick pop, Euan finally pulled all the way out before collapsing on top of Steve’s body.

  Chapter Twelve

  Steve lay, toying with Euan’s hair as Euan rested his head on Steve’s chest. Euan’s warm, even breath over Steve’s heart felt comforting.

  “If I go back to the States, what do you want to do?” Steve asked softly. “I mean, when I go back, I guess.”

  Euan rolled over to look at the ceiling. “What do you mean?”

  Steve hesitated, unsure if he wanted to ask this so decisively yet. But he had started it, so he couldn’t back out now. “Well, I want to stay with you. But I can’t. When this job is over, I have to do wherever I’m sent next.”

  “You could ask to spend some more time here,” Euan replied.

  “I could ask. But no guarantees. This is a whole company, not just me and my team. If they want to start making a package tour to India, I go to India, you know?” Steve asked. “You have a bit more of a say in what you do and where you go.”

  “I guess I want to return to University, back to York,” Euan said. “Now that my father might be open to hiring staff, or selling the business, I could have the option again. I’ll probably go part time, though, I want to be home more often.”

  “So, no chances of you changing your mind and staying with me for a while, then?” Steve asked.

  “You aren’t technically staying anywhere,” Euan replied. “You are going wherever you have to, so I can’t stay with you. What if somewhere you go is somewhere I don’t want to go? We’ve barely started this thing, I don’t know if I want to follow you around like a lost puppy or anything.”

  Steve knew Euan was right. He ran his fingers through Euan’s hair, feeling the soft locks tangle around his hand. “You have a point.”

  Euan paused and drew a deep breath. “But?”

  “Huh?”

  “I have a point, but you have another point, right? Or something. You can tell me,” Euan insisted.

  “I don’t know, it’s embarrassing to talk about it seriously,” Steve said.

  Is this about the whole ‘I love you’ thing?” Euan asked. “Did you mean it?”

  “I mean, it’s a bit soon but...” Steve drew a deep breath.

  Euan didn’t answer. The silence hung heavy.

  “I do think I love you,” Steve confessed. “I’m not sure how much, or where this might go, but for what we have right now… I would call it love, yes. You?”

  Euan hummed a little. “I think, all things considered, I love you a bit too.”

  Steve felt his heart beating fast. “Really? You don’t feel like it’s too soon?”

  “I don’t know if I believe in love at first sight,” Euan admitted. “But I do believe stuff happens, love grows. It isn’t a sudden thing, but that means it doesn’t happen all of a sudden at any time. Not first sight, or second, or fiftieth. It builds up. And… we have something building up.”

  “I want it to keep building,” Steve said. “I want to keep going like this. It feels like we don’t have enough time.”

  Euan sighed. “Same.”

  Steve wrapped his arms around Euan, pulling him as close as possible. It wasn’t fair. He wished he could have met Euan sooner, maybe when he was at college, so they could explore this better. Or later, once he was comfortable with this whole travel thing. It felt like the worst possible time to meet someone he felt so connected to.

  “Want to stay in Britain?” Euan asked, perking up a little. “You could write about York, right? I mean, if they let you. But it’s not like there aren’t loads of great places in Britain to go on holiday. I’m sure the company can find you more jobs. Possibly. Eventually. A few more jobs at least.”

  Steve laughed at Euan’s earnestness. “I wish.”

  “Then, maybe try and work here? Get a job with a British company?” Euan suggested.

  “I can’t do that,” Steve insisted.

  “So, you were asking me to con
sider what I was gonna do, like I’m supposed to change my mind about the things I have been working on for years, but you won’t rethink your own stuff?” Euan asked.

  Steve sighed. “Sorry, I guess I was asking a lot of you.”

  “Damn straight,” Euan said.

  “I guess I don’t want to put my career on hold. And if my jobs take me somewhere else, I want to chase them. Too many people quit everything they are passionate about for a relationship,” Steve said. “Seen it happen before. I don’t want to be the guy losing everything because I decided to quit my career and emigrate for a boyfriend. But I don’t want you to do that either.”

  Steve heard his computer, which had been idling in the corner, leap to life with a call.

  “Ah, shit, I have to get this,” Steve said, slipping out from under Euan and rushing to put on a t-shirt and boxers.

  He missed the call, but hit the callback button barely a second later, nervously spinning the computer when he realized Alex would have a view of the bed, hoping the video hadn’t loaded yet.

  “Sorry about that, just getting dressed,” Steve said nervously.

  “No problem,” Alex replied. “Just wanted to have a proper update session, see if we’re all on the same page here.”

  Steve heard the bed creak a little. He looked over his shoulder. Euan was off the bed, pacing up and down. Not wanting to look away too long, Steve glanced back. “Uh, sorry, thought I heard something.”

  “That’s fine. Anyway, we got all the accounts back. Whoever got into them has no access anymore. We’re getting you set up with a new email, you should get the invite to your personal email account shortly. So, it all looks like we acted on time and nothing is going to follow us.”

  “Great news!” said Steve. “I’m sorry about all that, I really am-”

  “No, no,” Alex said. “Things happen, we were all tense because of that. We’re actually working on better security levels to stop this happening ever again.”

  Steve breathed a sigh of relief.

  Behind him, Steve heard Euan’s footsteps stop. He looked over his shoulder. Euan seemed serious, concentrated. He pointed at the door and mouthed “be right back” at Steve. Steve gave him a thumbs up just outside of the camera’s view.

  As the door shut, Steve turned back to face Alex. “Room service,” he said.

  Alex raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

  Steve shrugged.

  “So,” Alex added. “I think this job will carry on for a bit. Still got to make sure all the new security measures work properly, and get approval from the top, but it seems like this won’t follow you.”

  Steve sighed heavily. “Good to hear. Wouldn’t like to completely mess up on my third job. And besides, I like it here.”

  “You met someone, didn’t you?” Alex asked. The tone suggested that he knew the answer already.

  “Yeah,” Steve said. “I’m sorry. I guess that is why I’m having a harder time staying on-task.”

  Alex paused. “You know, maybe staying on-task is why you are having a hard time staying on-task,” he suggested. “Have you had a break since you got there?”

  “Well, I’ve lost all control once already,” Steve replied. “And that was a mess. I have to try and actually concentrate on my work properly while I’m here right?”

  “No, not at all. You’re only human, of course you can’t be completely devoted to a job the whole time you stay there,” Alex replied, sounding almost horrified. “No wonder you went off the rails last night, sheesh.”

  “You’re not angry that I’m doing, like, non-work stuff on the job?” Steve asked.

  “No, you can’t be on the job this whole time,” Alex corrected. “Go ahead, have fun, have breaks. Just get the work done in work hours. You don’t have to do more than that.”

  “I’d like that,” Steve said. “I’ll do my best.”

  “Just, don’t let it affect your work again, okay?” Alex added. “I need you to be able to carry on, whatever happens. I don’t need another Jordan.”

  Steve knew about Jordan. Everyone knew about Jordan. It wasn’t his real name, but his story was real, a cautionary tale for every new employee.

  Jordan had been a pretty good employee, as far as reporters go. He had gathered information, written up articles, taken photographs, and stayed in budget the whole time.

  Except once.

  For some reason, Jordan had got it in his head that he would explore some ancient ruins. The problem was, he did not have clearance to do this. It wasn’t for work, they didn’t need this information for their tours. He was just really interested in exploring the ruins for himself. He had been overworked, too tired, and just got up one night and broke in.

  And then he got caught. The local government did not take kindly to him trespassing, damaging government property, and risking damage to the ruins. In fact, it was classed as an act of terrorism. After three weeks in prison, they were able to get him back home, but he was never quite the same.

  “Anyway,” Alex concluded. “I think you need to take the rest of the day off. Just relax, have a good time, recharge for work.”

  Steve nodded. “Logged, don’t want to be another Jordan.”

  Jordan had made mistakes. Ridiculous mistakes that only served his own interests and had got him into far more trouble than it was worth. Steve wasn’t Jordan. But he understood Alex’s message anyway: he had to try and separate work and life. And not break any local laws in the process. That last part was probably the most important one. But Steve knew that the first part mattered too.

  Still, separating work and life meant actually having some life which wasn’t work. Which meant finding Euan and enjoying the rest of the day, as asked.

  After the call, Steve got dressed properly and considered exactly what he would do. He hadn’t given himself time to actually think about what he wanted. He’d spent most of his time thinking about how to justify his wants and work them into a job. Now he had the freedom to actually think about fun, beyond work, and all he could think about was how great these tasks would be for his posts and books.

  He was on his way to find Euan, but they met on the stairs.

  Euan was on his way up, looking far more relaxed than when he had left. “How did it go?” Euan asked.

  Steve nodded. “It all seems to be going well, they got my accounts back under control, and I should be able to finish this job here.”

  “Glad it’s all fine,” Euan said, smiling with relief.

  Steve gestured so-so with one hand. “Still got to get my bank back.”

  “Ah, well that sucks,” Euan replied, turning and taking Steve’s hand, guiding him down the stairs.

  “It’s basically guaranteed, I just have to wait for them to log me back in and stuff. But, Alex basically told me I am working too hard, and I was trying to think about what to do for actual fun, and I keep thinking about work, so… I guess I’m asking you to just take me somewhere fun again,” Steve explained.

  Euan laughed. “I guess not like the club, then?”

  “I want to see more again, more of Aber,” Steve said. “But… I also want to just spend some time with you. Not working or stressing or taking notes. Just go somewhere nice for today. You choose. Even if it is a pub crawl or something.”

  “I have an idea,” Euan said. “Something nice we can do together. Just let me sort out the van and we can be on our way.”

  “Where are you thinking?” Steve asked, trying to keep pace with Euan’s energized steps.

  “You’ll see,” Euan replied.

  “You can tell me.”

  Euan hummed. “Nope. You will just find a way to make it about your job again. Maybe if I surprise you then you can enjoy it, you workaholic.”

  Steve laughed. “Fine, but just a hint?”

  “Nope.”

  “A word?”

  Euan laughed and squeezed Steve’s hand. “No.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Euan was pretty serious about not letti
ng Steve know where they were going. He actually made sure Steve stayed in the front of the van as he loaded things in. And checked to make sure Steve wasn’t peeking.

  “Does this really have to be a whole mission?” Steve asked.

  “Yeah,” Euan replied. “Mission Save Steve’s Sanity. Sounds good. You’ll like it. I hope.”

  As the trees to the roadside cleared, Steve caught a view of the sea. “Woah, that is beautiful,” he said.

  “I know, right?” Euan answered.

  “Not gonna give me some trivia about the cliffs we are driving on?” Steve asked.

  “Okay, I got some trivia,” Euan began. “They are beautiful.”

  “Yeah, they are,” Steve replied.

  Euan pulled the van up into a small parking area and they got out.

  The gravel crunched under Steve’s feet, and the wind was intense, bringing a sting of salty air with it. It was cold too, and Steve realized that the coat he had brought with him would not be quite enough.

  The cliffside was stunning. Dusky heather with sparks of yellow flowers ran along the tops of the cliffs, as well as countless grasses and shrubs which Steve could not begin to identify. The cliff walls themselves were divided in layers all the way down, like a freshly sliced mille-feuille, with small birds resting on some of the ledges.

  The sea was somewhat angry, waves rising tall before crashing against the slivers of beach and the cliffs themselves, raising clouds of sea foam that floated back down like snow.

  “It’s wonderful up here,” Steve said, lifting his hands to his arms and rubbing them, trying to stave off the cold of the wind.

  Hearing no reply, he saw Euan emerging from the back of the van with two windbreaker coats and a basket. “Picnic?” he asked.

  “A picnic sounds great,” Steve said. “And so does one of those coats.”

  Euan chuckled and put the basket and one of the coats on the ground, walking over to Steve with one of them, holding it open so Steve could put it on. Steve put each arm in, and before he could zip it, Euan reached around, pressing his chest against Steve’s back and zipping up the coat.