“I'm sure Callum did the best he could, given what he had to work with,” Cooper said defensively. “And at least it’s all done with now. No need to waste any more time or attention on him.”
“I wasn't doing it just for one shag,” Callum hissed. “That's not how relationships work! I enjoy spending time with Kurt, and I'm seeing him again on Wednesday. Sex isn't the be all and end all, you know.”
“Yes, it is,” Cooper countered. “What other point could there be?”
“Cooper’s right,” Fergus agreed. “It’s all about the cumshot.”
Callum shook his head and went to bed. Some people just couldn't be helped.
***********
Callum took Kurt to dinner on Wednesday night and endured another two hours of ‘Sagas From The Salon’ before he was finally able to shut him up with a long snog and a suggestion that they go back to Kurt's place.
“Yours is closer,” Kurt correctly pointed out. “And I haven't seen it yet.”
“Cooper's in tonight,” Callum grimaced, “and trust me, you don't want to have sex anywhere near him. He's likely to chime in with a list of recommendations for improvement.”
“Cooper again,” Kurt said exasperatedly. “Do you have any idea just how often you mention him?”
I bet it's not half as often as you mention your job, Callum silently thought, but checked himself before risking the chance of a shag slipping from of his grasp.
“Sorry,” he replied. “He's already a large part of my life, which is why I'd quite like to keep him out of my sex life if possible. Come on,” he continued, sliding an arm around Kurt's waist. “Your place isn't that much further away.”
Kurt let out a short sigh and nodded his head.
**********
When Callum arrived home the following morning, Cooper was already dressed and pulling on his coat.
“Oh, Callum,” he sighed. “Another disappointing shag?”
“Shut up,” Callum snapped. “You've spent long enough telling me that I need to get laid, so now that I am you don't get to comment on it, okay!”
“You really could do so much better, you know.”
“No, I don't know,” Callum replied grumpily. “Kurt's fine. Just leave it alone, will you.”
“Ah,” Cooper chuckled. “Fine? Well, that’s a ringing endorsement if ever I heard one.” He left it at that, grabbing his keys from the coffee table and heading off out.
***********
Callum kept up with texting Kurt, but didn't actually see him again until Friday lunchtime, when they stole a quick sandwich together in the shopping mall. Kurt's conversation was still largely work-related and Callum found himself mentioning Cooper rather more often than he should do by way of retaliation. When they left each other it was only with a peck on the cheek, and Callum walked back to work wondering if he should bother trying one more date, or if he should just end it now.
Later that evening, leaning against the bar in ‘Cascades’, Callum found himself in a depressingly familiar situation.
“I’m sorry,” he said glumly, resting his hand on Tyler’s shoulder as Cooper simultaneously swept away in to the crowd after having unleashed a withering tirade about Tyler’s tired appearance.
Tyler glanced across at Callum and smiled. “Why do you always feel the need to apologise for him?” he asked. “He's not your responsibility, you know.”
Callum shrugged awkwardly. “I don't know. It just usually makes everything easier if someone apologises, I suppose, and it's never going to be him.”
Tyler ordered a double whisky from Lewis. “Don't you ever wonder why you do it, I mean, hang about with him?” he asked.
“No,” Callum replied truthfully, before silently wondering just why that was.
“No, me neither,” Tyler grunted.
They stood in silence for a few minutes, ruminating on the mystery of why anyone would willingly associate with Cooper Ryan.
“So, anyway, how's the love life?” Callum finally asked.
Tyler screwed up his face. “Almost non-existent,” he said. “I'm remembering why I stopped trying to make relationships work in favour of one-night-stands, they're just so bloody difficult to timetable in around work.”
“Or around Cooper,” said Callum, his thoughts drifting towards Kurt. He really was going to have to end that soon. It wasn't fair to keep leading him on when it was clear it was going nowhere.
“God, we really are a pair,” Tyler laughed. “I take it you and Cooper still haven't...”
“No!”
“You know,” Tyler said thoughtfully, “I've been thinking about that. Maybe he's saving you for his old age.”
Callum gave him an incredulous look. “What the…?”
“The way I see it,” Tyler interrupted, “Is that Cooper's not an idiot. He knows that he won’t be able to live like he does forever. One day he's going to be too old to just pick guys up in clubs. Maybe he's keeping you for his retirement.”
“Wow,” said Callum. “There's really flattering, thanks for that Tyler.”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “Don't give me any of that false pride crap,” he said. “I just meant that he might have a plan to give a relationship a go once he's too old for all this,” he said, waving his glass vaguely around. “And you'd be the obvious choice to make that work with him. I can't imagine anyone else putting up with him for long.”
Callum thought for a moment. “I don’t think so,” he said pensively. “I'm pretty sure he hasn't thought that far ahead, or even entertained the possibility that he might not always be able to get any guy he wants without even really trying. And even if he has, he's got a whole load of choices that are better than me.”
“It's just a theory,” Tyler shrugged, waving across at Lewis for another drink. As he did so, Cooper returned, positioning himself between them as though he had been there all the while.
“Just to let you know,” he announced with a smug grin, “The cubicles in the gents now has a gloryhole, courtesy of a very accommodating Polish builder. Might not last long though, so get in there while you can.”
“Fascinating,” Callum sighed, “if you’re a complete slut!”
Cooper let out a huff of annoyance. “Come and dance,” he commanded, disappearing off towards the stairs without waiting for a reply.
Callum sighed and downed his drink. “Coming?” he asked Tyler.
Tyler shook his head. “Nah, I think I'm going to need a couple more of these first,” he said, gesturing to his glass.
Callum nodded and headed off after Cooper.
************
When Callum returned, it was obvious that Tyler had had in excess of a couple more. He was more drunk than Callum had ever seen him, leaning against the bar and scowling at anyone who came close. Callum ignored his grumpiness and turned his thoughts to Kurt. Maybe he was being too hasty. He was a nice guy, after all, and it wasn't as though there were hordes of men flocking in his direction. Kurt's work stories weren't that bad, and it wasn't as if he had much to talk about besides Cooper. Callum silently vowed to text him the following morning and see if he wanted to come out with them that night. If nothing else, it would be good to dance with someone who didn't disappear as soon as they saw someone they wanted to shag.
Callum’s mood darkened when he saw Cooper, engaged in deep conversation with Fergus, who was grinning like a shark, heading in their direction.
They came within earshot just in time for Callum to hear Cooper announce, “Of course I can pull any man in here. Don't be an idiot, Fergus. No one in ‘Cascades’ vaguely resembles a real challenge for me.”
Fergus's eyes were shining with an unholy look of glee, and Callum could almost sense the car crash approaching.
“OK then, this is the challenge,” Fergus said excitedly. “If you can't pull someone who I pick out, and I mean pull as in take them home and shag them, then you come back to mine, and I get to shag you.”
“I never have sex in other people's homes,�
�� Cooper replied dismissively.
“And that's why it's a forfeit,” Fergus said with an exaggerated sigh. “Besides, you're missing out. I've got some sex toys that will blow your mind.”
“And when I win?” Cooper asked.
Fergus shrugged. “Oh, I don't know. A smug feeling of superiority?”
The problem was, Callum thought, as he watched Cooper glance around the club, a smug feeling of superiority was probably all Cooper really wanted out of life.
“No women though,” Cooper specified.
Fergus made a disgusted face. “Of course not.”
“And no one I've already shagged,” Cooper added.
Fergus rolled his eyes. “Picky, picky,” he said. “I can accommodate that, though. Are we on?” Cooper nodded and Fergus’s grin instantly grew more sinister. “Excellent! In that case,” he started looking around, casting his gaze around the club before turning and pointing straight at Callum, “I choose him!”
“What?” Callum exclaimed.
“I choose you, Mr Cheerful Flatmate!” Fergus laughed. “And no awkward journey home in the morning as a bonus!”
“I'm seeing someone,” Callum protested.
Fergus rolled his eyes again. “As if anyone here thinks that's going to last past the weekend. Besides, Cooper never specified that it had to be a single man.”
Cooper hadn't said a word, or reacted in any way.
“So, how about it then, Coopy?” said Fergus, his grin growing even more manic. “What kind of moves would you put on the lad to get him into bed?”
Callum felt a hot ball of something, shame, embarrassment, or possibly even anticipation, sinking low into his stomach. What would he do if Cooper actually went through with this? Would he let him shag him for tonight just to keep him out of Fergus's clutches? Could he bring himself to indulge in something that sordid and impersonal? More to the point, did he really think he'd be able to say no to whatever proposition Cooper came up with?
Cooper didn't even look at him. “Don't be ridiculous,” he said scornfully. “I'm not going to have sex with Callum.”
Callum almost flinched at the cold tone of his voice, but managed to steady himself through the stab of pain of rejection.
“You’re forfeiting?” Fergus asked. “Without even trying? Oh, Cooper, I thought better of you!”
“Meet me outside in half an hour,” Cooper replied offhandedly before turning and striding away, still without even glancing at Callum.
It was barely two minutes later that Callum received a text. He pulled his phone out assuming it would be from Cooper, an explanation, maybe even an apology, but, instead, it was from Kurt.
I've had a lot of fun over the last couple of weeks, but I don't really think it's going anywhere. I'm sorry Cal, you're a great bloke, but it's just not working.
**********
The following morning, Callum felt dreadful. He lay in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling and trying to bring himself to get up and start the day. He wondered what it said about him that he spent more time lingering on the tone of Cooper's voice as he rejected Fergus’s proposal than on the break-up with Kurt.
Eventually he roused himself and headed through in to the kitchen, only to find that Cooper hadn't made it home yet. Probably still being screwed by Fergus, Callum thought glumly as he put the kettle on. After all, there was all those interesting sex toys to have fun with. All Callum had to offer was his dick, and that was clearly of no interest to anyone whatsoever.
He scowled at himself. Wallowing in self-pity wasn't really constructive and, besides, what had he expected? If Cooper had wanted to shag him, there had hundreds of chances since he had moved in. Also, did he really want to become just another notch on Cooper's bedpost just for the chance to get one over on Fergus? If they had shagged the previous night, it was probable that he would have been feeling even worse this morning after being used and chucked out like every other guy Cooper had ever slept with. He was being ridiculous and he knew it, but it nevertheless felt good indulge in a childish sulk.
When Cooper finally arrived home, he looked as though he hadn't slept at all. He studied Callum for a few seconds, screwing up his face as he did do.
“You're upset,” he declared, more as a statement than a question
Callum had a thousand things that he felt like saying in reply, but discarded them all in favour of a simple, “Kurt dumped me.” The last thing he wanted, or needed, was probing questions about whether or not he actually wanted Cooper to have shagged him.
Cooper's frown failed to diminish. “You were thinking of breaking it off yourself, though. Surely this has just saved you the effort?”
“That’s not the point,” Callum sighed. “Kurt was the closest thing to a relationship that I've had in well over a year, and it fizzled out without even making it to the two-week mark.”
“Two weeks is far too long to waste on one person,” Cooper said nonchalantly. “Stick with me and we’ll see what we can do to improve your success rate.”
“I'm not looking for a success rate. I'm looking for someone to care about.”
“Care about?” Cooper repeated, as though it were a phrase that he had never heard, or considered, before.
Callum shook his head tiredly. “I don't expect you to understand,” he said. “So just leave it.”
Cooper stood where he was for a moment or two, as if he was trying to think of something appropriate to say and failing and, when Callum ignored him and turned his attention back to the television, he opted to retire to his favourite place, his bedroom.
***********
When Cooper emerged, later that evening, Callum was still settled on the sofa, clutching a cushion to his chest and staring blankly at the television.
“Why aren’t you ready?” he asked.
“I'm not going out tonight,” Callum muttered. He had spent most of the afternoon contemplating why he spent so much of his time following Cooper around just for odd snippets of his attention, and how pathetic it was. If he put a bit of distance between them, and managed to forge out a life that wasn't inextricably linked to Cooper, he might be able to kill off some of the feelings for his flatmate that were getting increasingly out of control.
“Of course you're coming,” Cooper replied. “It's Saturday night. We always go out on a Saturday night.”
“I'm really not in the mood,” Callum answered. “Nothing to stop you going out and having a good time, though.”
“Is this about Kurt?” Cooper asked, and then quickly answered his own question. “No, it can't be, you didn't care about him that much.”
Callum took a deep breath. Getting in an argument with Cooper was not going to help. “It's not about Kurt,” he said calmly. “It's about me. I'm just not in the mood for a night of awkward pick-up lines and sweaty dancing.”
“You love dancing,” Cooper countered.
That was true but, if he was going to manage to force his feelings for Cooper into friendship only, it was one of the things that was going to have to be sacrificed. “I'm getting a bit old for it,” he lied. “I think I'm just going to stay in. Maybe watch a film.”
“This just doesn't make any sense,” Cooper pressed. “There's something more than that.”
“There isn’t,” Callum sighed. “I'm just tired and fancy a night in for a change, that’s all.”
**********
An hour later, Callum's phone rang. The screen flashed up the word ‘Tyler’ and Callum’s heartbeat immediately spiked. There was no real reason for Tyler to call him, not unless Cooper had done something that meant he needed Callum's assistance.
“Has something happened?” he asked urgently the second he answered the call. “Oh, God, he hasn't been arrested, has he?”
Tyler’s infectious laugh filtered down through his phone. “No, mate, nothing like that,” he said. “I just wondered if you were okay, that's all.”
“Oh, I'm fine,” Callum replied. “What's Cooper been saying? I'm staying in
for once. It’s no big deal.”
“Did something happen?” Tyler pressed.
“No,” Callum insisted. “Like I said, I just don't feel like going out tonight. It’s nothing to do with Cooper.”
“Right,” said Tyler, not sounding completely convinced. “Are you sure it’s not to do with what happened last night.”
Callum let out a sigh. “Is there any chance we could just not talk about this?”
“Nope,” Tyler immediately retorted. “Look, Callum, it's probably not my place, but it seems like you don't really have anyone to talk to, and, well…” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “it's tough, hearing something like that from someone you're in love with.”
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