before sunrise

"All righty, mate, maybe we'll just pack it in and miss all the sites," Kadan said as he put his arm around Craig, naked in bed. "Fine with me, but uh a little shocking since you were going on how we needed to not be settle'n here but out and about. What gives?"

"Nothing." Craig kissed him softly, not wanting to think about John Paul's phone call. It had been amazing in the shower with Kadan and now back to bed.

Kadan's cell rang. He broke free of Craig's kiss and looked to see who was calling on his cell.

"What the hell could be wrong?" He noticed. "Its Chloe."

Craig didn't want him to take it. Craig got up and motioned for him to cut the phone call completely.

"It might be important." Kadan shrugged.

"Don't. Don't say-"

"What?" Kadan squinted. Then answered, "Hullo." Kadan kept watching Craig's little charade of not wanting Kadan to mention him being here with Kadan. "I'm here with....with some very drunk fucks. Yes, that's what is going on, darling. You know, this business." But he kept watching Craig who now looked relieved. "The baby can't sleep? Have you talked to your Auntie about that? She must have a remedy for that sort of thing, don't you think?" He was on the phone for several more minutes which annoyed Craig.

He couldn't watch. He went to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. He looked closely at his neck and noticed something. Then stretched around to look in the mirror from his back side. There were a couple of hickeys on his back shoulder. This was a little unnerving. How would he explain this? Especially, to Chloe.

He was tired, miserable, yet it had all happened so brilliantly. This little get-away with Kadan. Why did it have to be so stressful, though? He knew it was his own damn fault.

He thought he could smell smoke which he hated. When he went back to the bed, he saw that Kadan had lit a cigarette. He never smoked around him. He'd know. Wouldn't he?

"That's disgusting?" Craig said, sorely.

"What? A fag." Kadan laughed. "I can't help it. I always smoke while I'm on the phone with Chloe. She does it to me, you know."

"That is just wrong." Craig couldn't stand the smoke. It made him think of the pub back in Ireland and even at home. And didn't Kadan know what this could do to his voice?

"Tell me about it." Kadan took a puff and blew smoke rings.

Craig put his hand out to take it from him. Then a strange thing happened, unexpectedly. Kadan grabbed his hand and pressed the cigarette out in the Craig's palm.

Craig felt the burn sizzle through his whole body. He staggered back cringing with a moan.

"What the hell is going on?" Kadan waited for an answer with his arms crossed, hiding little of himself in the covers.

Craig grimaced in pain and quickly went to take care of the burn in the bathroom. "What was that for?" He managed to say with his hand under the faucet.

"What would have been so wrong to say..guess who's here, Craig." Kadan leaned against the bathroom door totally naked.

Craig was getting use to the rawness between the two of them, except for the cigarette burn which clearly shocked him.

"She would have made something of it." Craig closed his eyes. It was clear to him that in the light of the bathroom nothing was quite as beautiful as it had seemed earlier in the shadows.

"Made something of it? Why is that?" Kadan kept staring at Craig.

"I told her I had an emergency. She thinks I went back to Hollyoaks." Craig shut off the cold water then and wrapped a towel around his hand.

"What's it to her? Where you've been or where you're going?" Kadan didn't look happy.

"She's been a great friend, as of late. And I can't very well ignore her, can I? You left her alone with a baby, what was I to do?" Craig was serious. He wasn't full of shit about this. "Its your doing?"

"My doing? She can very well take care of herself. She's got family, you know." Kadan squinted.

"I just thought, if I could be her friend-" Craig kept looking at Kadan's irresistible lips which had already done monumental things to him, already..and couldn't stand for this to be the end. He knew he'd have to go sooner or later. But he didn't want to fight with him. Didn't want it to end this way with suspicions. He reached for Kadan and kissed him. "Stop the smoking, will ya?" Craig finally said.

Kadan laughed. It was mutual, just one more go at each other before sunrise.