Spice Islands (First Romance Smackdown - LGBT)

Temptation

"I think he likes you," Sophie whispered with a smile. 

"Who? Tim?" Liam tried to sound nonchalant. 

She nodded. "Perhaps you'd better tell him we're just friends, not a couple," she added. "He looked a bit pissed off when he saw me." 

"Just drop it casually into the conversation huh?" Liam said sarcastically. He didn't want to look as if he was pursuing Tim. Apart from being too embarrassing, (what if he wasn't interested in him after all?), he had left things unfinished with Ben. Had they broken up or not? In any case, surely it was too soon to jump into another relationship? 

In the event, Tim made it easy for him. When Liam turned up alone for the diving trip, Tim asked casually. 

"Your girlfriend doesn't dive, then?" So what if it was loaded question, he wanted to know. 

"Sophie's not my girlfriend. We're housemates." Liam cleared his throat. A couple of other guys were coming towards them carrying diving gear but he still had a moment before they would come into ear shot. He lowered his voice and looked steadily at Tim. "My boyfriend and I were planning this holiday for months, but he pulled out at the last minute. I'd already paid for the tickets, so lucky for me, Sophie was able to come instead." 

There. It was out in the open between them. He held his breath for Tim's reaction. 

Tim's face relaxed into a wide smile. "I see."  

The other divers came up to them before he could say any more and they were soon all involved in checking the equipment and going through the rules of the dive. Tim was an excellent instructor and the dive location was stunning.  

As they were trekking back to the resort, tired but happy, Tim dropped back beside him for a moment. 

"Maybe we could have a drink together later?" He wanted to find out more about this 'boyfriend.' Was Liam available or not? He knew all he could expect was a brief holiday romance, but he still wanted to know where the boundaries were. The last thing he wanted was a one night stand with Liam feeling guilty afterwards, shunning him for the rest of the stay. Making them both feel like shit. 

A month after starting as manager, Tim had made himself two promises. Firstly he would never get personally involved with any of the Indonesian staff. He didn't think he was being racist, but it felt too much like the colonial master taking advantage. Given the relatively low wages indigenous staff received in Indonesia, he didn't want to put anyone in the position of thinking they had to sleep with him to keep their job. 

The second promise, was that he wouldn't prostitute himself either. Almost from day one, Tim found himself the target of blatant passes, from both sexes, holiday makers seeking a passionate encounter as part of the package. At first he thought it was because he was young and personable, but then he had realised, it was simply because they thought he was available. Like the free coffee from the bar. 

He'd soon learned to turn them down with a smile and a brief reference to an existing partner of the appropriate sex, so that no-one's feelings were hurt. If someone made the first move, he always declined. However he wasn't a monk. Occasionally he'd be lucky enough to find someone who interested him and then he'd make the approach. Like right now. 

"I'd like that," said Liam, taking the plunge. They could have a drink and a chat. What harm could it do? It wasn't like he was being unfaithful to Ben. Yet. 

Perhaps he'd better check his phone when he got back to the cabin. He hadn't heard from Ben since the night before he left, when he'd stormed out. He'd sent a brief message to let him know they'd arrived safely but so far he hadn't even received an acknowledgement. He'd rung a couple of times when he thought Ben would be home but he hadn't answered and he didn't feel like having the conversation he wanted to have via text messages.  

To be honest, it was starting to piss him off. It seemed like Ben was making the decision for him. 

XXX 

He met Tim in front of the bar before dinner and told him about Ben as they sipped their beer. Liam wasn't normally a big fan of beer but a cold one went down really well in this hot humid weather. There were only three people in the area. The third was an older Indonesian man idly strumming a cak, an Indonesian version of a ukelele, practising for the concert that the resort had planned for later that evening. 

Liam and Tim sat near to each other in a couple of cane chairs, the gentle strumming covering their low voices. 

"So are you hoping to get back together when you return home?" asked Tim. 

"I don't know," sighed Liam, then hastened to qualify. "I'm not trying to be difficult, I just don't know where we stand." 

"Do you love him?"  

"Wow, you don't hold back do you?" 

Tim swallowed a mouthful of beer before he spoke. "Seems to me that's the most important thing. Once you know that, surely the rest follows." 

He let his hand rest lightly on Liam's knee. "Let me know, once you decide." 

Tim's thumb stroked the inside of his bare thigh in a slow circle and Liam felt a rush of heat run straight up his leg right to his groin. 

He couldn't help it, he blushed. Tim withdrew his hand with a delighted smile. "Time for me to get back to work. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" Liam was adorable. He didn't want to push, but he didn't have a lot of time.