Jack and Kyle - Part 11

*** I think I'm almost at the end of this story but I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Sorry this part has taken so long to post, I'm having problems with the site as it won't let me log in so every time I upload a story I have to create a new account which is why this story may appear under a different name to the others. Reviews would be much appreciated. Thanks, Jake. ***

It had been at least an hour since Kyle had arrived home and he and Jack were still lying cuddled up together on the sofa. Jack’s Stereophonic’s ‘Decade in the Sun’ CD was playing softly in the background on a loop but he didn’t mind, the familiar songs sounded comforting. He still had his arms wrapped around Kyle, whose head was resting on his chest. Jack could feel Kyle’s slow, steady breathing and he wondered if he’d fallen asleep. He smiled to himself as he gently stroked his boyfriend’s black hair, loving how soft it felt between his fingers. His lips curved into a proper smile for a moment when he noticed a few almost white blonde strands of hair, Kyle must have missed a bit when he’d dyed it. Jack felt a sudden pang of affection for the boy in his arms, just seeing that small patch of un-dyed hair reminded Jack that Kyle wasn’t as perfectly pulled together as he tried to make out to everybody else. But for some reason that made Jack love him all the more.

Kyle mumbled something in his sleep but Jack didn’t catch what it was, it probably wouldn’t have made sense anyway, Kyle often talked in his sleep but the words never meant anything to Jack. He murmured something again, it sounded more frantic this time and his hand gripped Jack’s shirt tighter. Jack bit his lip and hesitated for a moment before shaking Kyle’s shoulder to wake him up, he wondered if he’d been having a nightmare. Kyle turned his head to look up at Jack and his face slowly relaxed into a smile. “Hey,” he whispered.

Jack smiled back and tilted his head to brush his lips lightly against Kyle’s. Even though it was just the lightest touch it still made his lips tingle. “How long was I asleep baby?” Kyle asked sleepily. He yawned lightly and sat up for a moment to stretch his arms above his head before lying back down again. He placed his head on Jack’s shoulder and slid his leg between his so he was comfortable.

“Not long,” Jack said slowly, running his fingers through Kyle’s hair again. He wanted to ask what was wrong, he clearly hadn’t been himself when he came home but he didn’t want Kyle to think he was being pushy. Kyle yawned again and Jack laughed softly. “Still tired huh?”

“Yeah... I think I’m gonna go to bed. Long day,” Kyle shrugged as he sat up. It was only about 7pm, not late at all and it was odd for Kyle to just want to go and sleep but Jack didn’t press the matter, he didn’t really know what to say right now anyway, something was bothering Kyle but he couldn’t work out what it was. “Night, babe,” Kyle smiled but it looked forced. He kissed Jack’s forehead affectionately and got up, heading for the bedroom without waiting for a reply. He wanted to be on his own for a while, he just need to think things through properly because right now his mind was all over the place.

Jack waited to hear Kyle’s bedroom door shut before he pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket. Kyle was his closest friend but he couldn’t talk to him about something that involved him. He scrolled through his contacts list until he came to Josh’s name. He and Josh weren’t especially close friends, they’d met through work. Jack was a junior photographer for a model’s agency and Josh was one of the first model’s he’d worked with. Since he was a model, Josh was obviously very good looking. He had light brown hair that he wore quite short but long enough to give him that shaggy look, tanned skin, bright emerald green eyes and the sort of body that didn’t look out of place with all the other male models for Calvin Klein, Abercrombie & Fitch and so on. He was easy to talk to and was pretty open so Jack hoped he’d be able to help him out. Despite the fact that Josh was straight, he’d been helpful in the past when Jack had asked him for advice about relationships. He tapped out a quick message asking to meet him for a drink and Josh replied in the affirmative almost straight away. Jack figured Kyle would be sleeping anyway so he picked up his black blazer lying over the arm of the couch and left the flat quietly, locking the door behind him.

He slipped the jacket on as he pressed the button for the lift. It came after a minute or so and Jack stepped in alone and pressed the button for the ground floor. He looked at his reflection in the mirrored doors as they hissed shut. It showed a good looking teenager with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, dressed in a simple but well cut white t-shirt, faded blue skinny jeans and a black blazer. But Jack didn’t really take that in, he was focusing on the shadows beneath his eyes; he looked tired. The stress of trying to work out this relationship with Kyle was starting to take its toll.

The pub where he was meeting Josh was only 5 minutes walk away and it was a cool evening, but not so cold that he was uncomfortable. When he pushed open the door, Josh was already sitting at a table in the corner with two drinks on the table in front of him. He looked up and smiled at Jack as he walked towards him. “Hey you,” Josh grinned as he sat down beside him. “How’s things?”

Jack didn’t reply at first, he picked up his drink and drained at least half of it in one go. Josh laughed and raised an eyebrow. “That bad, huh?” He asked curiously.

Jack sighed and shook his head. “Not really, just stressed.” He paused for a second and shrugged. “Kyle.” He muttered. Josh nodded, understanding him at once. Jack had spoken to him about Kyle before and although it was obvious they were both crazy about each other, things did seem a bit of a struggle especially with the complication of Kyle’s ex boyfriend. Josh didn’t know Max personally but from what he’d heard, he was a dick. And although he hadn’t admitted it to Jack, Kyle hadn’t exactly come across in the best light either.

“Come on then kid, let’s hear it,” Josh smiled encouragingly. Jack returned his smile. That was the main thing he liked about Josh, he could cheer him up and he was a good listener too.

“To be honest, I don’t know. Everything was starting to go well and all of a sudden he’s acting really strangely. He barely spoke to me when were together earlier, and he said he was off to bed about quarter of an hour ago. I don’t know what’s going on with him Josh and I don’t know what to do. I love him so, so much and I don’t think he knows how much it hurts me when he’s like this.” Jack spilled everything out so quickly it was difficult to hear what he was saying properly. He hadn’t spoken to anyone else about this at all and it was a relief to finally talk about it. He bit his lip hard, suddenly feeling tears welling up in his eyes.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry...” Josh murmured. He put his arm around Jack’s shoulders and rested his cheek against the top of Jack’s head when he leant into him. “Jack, if you really love him and if he loves you, you’ll be able to sort things out, you need to speak to him about it though,” Josh said soothingly, gently rubbing his shoulder.

“Th-thats the thing,” Jack mumbled, trying to stop his voice from cracking. “I don’t know if he really does love me.”

“Jack...” Josh lightly touched his fingers under Jack’s chin, turning his face towards his. “I’m sure he does love you, okay? You’re amazing, you really are and he’s bloody lucky to have somebody like you.” He smiled slightly and Jack managed a weak smile.

“I don’t know, Josh. But I can’t cope with him being on and off all the time,” Jack sighed, biting his lip. “Thanks though, I’ll speak to him,” He smiled gratefully at Josh.

Josh grinned back. “No problem,” he ruffled Jack’s hair playfully and pulled him in for a hug. He rested his cheek against the top of Jack’s head, holding onto him for longer than he normally would when he hugged his other guy friends. But Jack didn’t let go either so he kept his arms around him, breathing in the delicious scent of his cologne. Suddenly he pulled away. He couldn’t be starting to think of Jack as more than friend, could he? No, that would be stupid, he told himself. He was straight, he liked girls not guys. But as Jack’s piercing blue eyes met his he felt his stomach flip involuntarily. Josh shook himself mentally, trying to tell himself to get a grip. He couldn’t like Jack, not in that way. First of all he was male and second, he was taken. Although he was trying to push it to the back of his mind he found his eyes focusing on Jack’s smooth lips, wondering what they’d feel like against his own.

Jack snapped his fingers in front of Josh’s face and laughed. “Josh?”

“Huh?” Josh shook his head, he’d been completely absorbed in his thoughts so he hadn’t even realised Jack was speaking.

“You were miles away,” Jack grinned, raising an eyebrow. “What were you thinking about?”

“You,” Josh answered automatically, and instantly realised he shouldn’t have said that, he hadn’t meant to, it just slipped out.

“Me? What about me?” Jack looked confused and who could blame him really. “Josh?” He spoke again seeing as Josh still hadn’t said anything and looked like he was thinking hard.

“I, uh... Nothing, I just meant I was thinking about you and Kyle. Y’know, about how you can sort everything out,” Josh said hastily.

Jack raised an eyebrow, he could see Josh was lying. “Okay. Now what were you really thinking about?”