David and Thompson weren't alone again until the following Wednesday afternoon. It was 5pm when David made it downstairs to the warehouse floor, but he couldn't find Thompson anywhere. By the time he entered the locker room he was fairly certain there was no-one else around. The only sound was the whir of the ceiling fan like an approaching helicopter at super-slow speed.
The air at the end of the long room was still clouded with steam, it seemed to hang in damp unmoving clouds. In the winter Thompson was adamant it was responsible for the strange green growth lining the sinks and shower troughs. As David walked slowly through the room he ran his hand down the length of the locker doors tapping them one by one, compulsively pushing them closed with his fingertips as he hummed dreamily. He was about to turn back when the steam revealed Thompson sitting hunched on the edge of the bench, wrapped in a towel with his head in his hands.
"Oh, it's you," grumbled Thompson.
"Ah -- sorry. I was just looking for you. I hadn't seen you since this morning."
David wasn't sure if he should leave.
"Well, don't just stand there David, sit down," muttered Thompson, motioning to the bench beside him.
David sat down tentatively beside Thompson. His eyes were red. He look tired. David felt Thompson's eyes lock onto his own.
"Everyone gone for the day, have they?" Thompson inquired.
"Yep."
David's mood brightened at the prospect of small talk.
"My wife isn't speaking to me," said Thompson.
"She's thrown you out of the house?"
"Ah no, no, no, she hasn't -- which is a blessing, I'll say that. She found out I've being seeing prostitutes."
"Gosh Thompson, I'm so sorry."
"She lost interest in the physical side of things. It happened fairly gradually and then all of a sudden we hadn't made love in over a year and it seemed like that was the way things were going to have to be. When we were younger you couldn't stop us, we were at it all the time."
"Maybe a hot shower will make you feel better?" David offered.
"Well, I guess it might help," replied Thompson.
"Come on -- it'll do you good, I'll join you. I could do with a shower." He reached out and patted Thompson on the shoulder before trotting back to his locker for his towel. "Hang on," he called out.
They showered in their usual spot. Thompson bowed his head under a torrent of water.
"You haven't said anything."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you don't seem very shocked by my secret. Aren't you disgusted? Marion was disgusted. I could hear it in her voice." Thompson wiped his forearm across his face. David couldn't tell if he was wiping away tears or water.
"I'm surprised, but I'm definitely not disgusted, not at all. Why would I be disgusted? You were seeking out something that you couldn't get from Marion, and you didn't mean to hurt her, and you weren't having an affair."
"We didn't even talk about it."
"You didn't talk about what?"
"I could have talked to her about why we had stopped making love, we could've seen a bloody doctor, or someone -- I don't know. Maybe this wouldn't have happened if we had talked about it and worked it out..."
He was the most naked David had ever seen him, broken and grief-stricken.
"It might have helped, or it might have done nothing at all. You can't think about the what-ifs. It's not going to help now," he said, attempting a reassuring tone. Thompson looked up.
"Catch," said David, flinging him the soap. Thompson smiled briefly before the expression vanished beneath his darkening brow.
"You're a good boy Davey -- a good boy," Thompson said gravely, as soap suds started to blanket his body.
"We all have secrets Thompson, and yours isn't that bad; it's just a matter of trying to convince Marion to see it the same way, don't you think?"
"You could be right."
"I --" but David stopped. He could feel it boiling up inside him: the impetus to reveal to Thompson his own sexual attraction to him.
"Yes -- what were you going to say?" Thompson peeked out from under his hands which had frozen for a moment as they ran circles on his scalp.
"Umm -- nothing."
The spray was slowly stripping the soap from his body as he turned to David, and the light, which was never good, had somehow managed to illuminate Thompson's eyes. He could see the tears forming at the edges of his lower lids, clear drops spilling out over his eyelashes, clinging to his cheeks. Thompson was gazing at a point over his right shoulder and didn't seem to notice David transfixed by this display of emotion.
Tentatively David stepped over and reached out, resting his hand on Thompson's shoulder. He squeezed lightly. But what happened next almost made David jump clean out of his skin with the shock of it. Thompson turned quickly at his touch and reaching out with both arms, wrapped them around David and gripped him in a strong embrace. David didn't speak and he held Thompson for what felt like minutes but was probably less. Both men stood naked under the showers, holding on to each other, Thompson finding reassurance in the comforting hug of his young friend and David finding solace in something which he didn't even know he was looking for.
As their waists made contact David could feel Thompson's cock grow rock hard against his body. Thompson's hands had dropped and were rubbing up and down on David's back, his hands moving briefly to the top of his buttocks.
"Thanks -- let me get your back."
David turned and Thompson washed his back. "Let's get you nice and clean." He soaped him up heavily and then suddenly David felt Thompson's hand move over his buttocks.
Thompson's breathing was heavy. David felt his fingers slip into the crack of his ass and gently rub over his arsehole. David groaned, arching his back slightly.
"You like that huh, tight little hole, isn't it?"
Thompson was roughly soaping him and then gently fingering him. The tip of his finger working into the first sphincter of his arsehole. David couldn't believe it. His fingers felt thick.
He replaced his fingers with the shaft of his cock, grinding it on his crack. This time Thompson moaned and so did David.
"Your ass is smooth -- tight."
Thompson hands grasped him around the waist as he ground his fully erect cock up and down the crack of his ass. David ached to be fucked but he wasn't sure what might happen next.
