It started as a Game

The Night!

After a 20 minute walk where not many words were exchanged, Declan stopped walking and Anthony did the same on noticing that.

"What?" Anthony asked and turned to face Declan.

Declan grinned and grabbed Anthony's shoulder and went round the last corner with him. "Look at that" Declan smiled and let go of the other man's body.

"Wow" the taller man exclaimed and looked down the little hill they were on.

Declan had discovered this place during his last relationship, after a particular bad fight. He had come here often to think since then, it was his favourite place to be. It was a stunning view over the city, especially now that it was dark and the city lights were shining bright, creating a beautiful little skyline underneath them.

Declan was surprised when Anthony sat down on the exact same bench he had sat on so many times before to have a think. So he quietly sat down beside him and immediately some memories of Jacob and him ran through his mind. It was just force of habit. But Declan quickly made himself stop thinking about that, fortunately that was all in the past.

He turned his head and looked at Anthony and their gazes met and they smiled at each other. Then they started talking. Mainly about Newcastle, about their families and their passions.

Declan learned that Anthony had two younger sisters, he learned that he loved football, especially being a goalie, he learned that his parents were divorced, he learned that he was a vet and loved animals but that it was hard at times, especially when he couldn't help as much as he wanted to. Declan told him all about his family as well and they talked and talked and talked and couldn't stop.

"Oh look" Declan suddenly said and pointed at the horizon. The sun was rising.

"Oh shit" Anthony said but he laughed. "We should probably head home, right?"

"Right" Declan smiled. "One thing though."

"Yes?" Ant smiled and looked Declan in the eyes.

"Why did you want to know if I have a boyfriend?" Declan asked sheepishly. He just had to know. Could it be that...? No, that was impossible. This man was married after all.

"Because" Anthony just said but Declan saw that he was smirking and he immediately got a bit hot under the collar. "Just wanted to get to know you a little bit better" Ant added and shrugged his shoulders.

They went home afterwards and when Declan lay in bed he couldn't help but think about the huge hug he had received of Anthony when they had said their goodbyes.

"It was a wonderful night, thank you Dec" Ant had said and had squeezed him tightly for a few seconds. "You don't know how much I needed something like that."

With that he had let him go and had quickly made his way down the road before Declan had even had the chance to say anything. Lying in his bed now, he couldn't sleep. There was something about this guy. And that hug had been so warm and loving, Declan could still feel Anthony's breath tickling his neck. Damn, he really liked this guy. And he so hoped that their evening wasn't a one-off and that he could see Anthony again. Although Declan of course knew he shouldn't get that close to him but he felt like they had just clicked. Initially, this all had been just a game to him but by now he wasn't so sure about that anymore.

Anthony had never done or felt something like this. He felt like he had known Declan forever. His wife had been quite mad at him for turning up so late – or early, actually. She had already been up and having breakfast, she hadn't spoken to him much, but he had seen it in her eyes. But it wasn't something new to the dark-haired man. He had just nodded at her accusations and had gone to bed.

And there he was now. Lying awake and thinking about this evening which had been rather a full night. There was something about Declan which he liked very much. He could laugh with this guy, he was so vibrant and open-minded, it was quite nice he had to admit. He hadn't had a night like this in ages, actually he couldn't remember if he had ever had such a night before.

He thought about what he had said to Declan. He hadn't planned on opening up to him, but it kind of had just happened. 'She had another side to her' he repeated in his head and as soon as he had spoken those words to Declan, he had known it was the truth. And he knew it now. His wife had changed. And he had accepted it, at least over the last few years. They just lived side by side now. As soon as she had started to climb the career ladder, she had changed. His lovely lady was gone.

Well, she had never been a very romantic person, she had never been overly touchy with him either. She had always demanded having her freedom somehow, but despite all that, Anthony had always known that she loved him. She had just a different way of showing him and there had been all those happy moments together and Anthony wouldn't want to miss any of those. But lately, all that was gone. Yes, they still slept in the same bed, but that was about it. They barely shared a kiss, let alone having sex.

At the gala, Anthony had felt a little bit of that sparkle again. He had felt as if she was proud of him, as if she wanted everybody to know who he was and as if she wanted to make clear that he was hers. But as soon as they had been on their way home, all of that was gone and all she did was moan and moan and moan. Above all, she had moaned about Declan. Anthony had noticed himself getting upset about that, he had liked this guy very much and he was nothing like Rebecca had described him.

When she had started moaning about him being gay and how he had just mentioned that as if it was nothing and how disgusted she was by that, Anthony had had enough and he had snapped at her. He was always a very kind man, especially towards his wife and he barely snapped at her. He was more the kind of guy who avoided arguments and rather did as he was told than getting his own way. But something about her insulting Declan in that way had hit him right into his heart.

Thinking about that now, he felt even more anger rising in him. Declan really was a nice bloke, he definitely knew after their evening together. And his wife had no right to moan about this lovely guy.

Anthony knew how his wife could be and he hadn't been bothered too much about how she was at work and how rude she was to her employees. But now that he knew Declan, now that he knew how nice he was, he felt quite guilty and embarrassed by his wife. How dare she be like that to him?

Declan had only hinted at how nasty she was as his boss and Anthony was glad that they hadn't talked about her again. But it was enough for him to feel embarrassed. He knew how she could be, of course he knew. And he knew that she wanted to prove herself, especially before men. Another reason why she hadn't wanted to take on his last name. She wanted to have a name of her own and she wanted to show independency.

He thought about Declan and how he had felt around him, even at their first encounter. This guy impressed him somehow. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about him. It confused Anthony quite a bit. But he wasn't afraid. He liked it somehow. He liked him. This night had been a refreshing break and he had never thought that it would turn out like this. And Anthony was sure that they would meet again very soon. At least he wanted to see this guy again. Because, it was crazy but this guy had made him feel good. And he had made him forget. About all this struggle at home.

Sometimes, Anthony asked himself whether he had always taken the right decisions in his life.

Although his mind was buzzing with thoughts, Anthony could feel himself getting sleepier the more he thought about everything and he finally drifted off, being totally exhausted from staying up all night.