Brushstrokes of Desire

The shower was too hot. Steam clung to the bathroom mirror, curling up like breath against glass. Daniel leaned his head against the tiled wall, water cascading down his back, trying to wash away more than just the scent of whiskey and city air.

But it didn't work. It never did.

His mind drifted uninvited, unwilling back to Ethan.

That ridiculous, reckless boy standing outside the pub, cheeks flushed, lips parted with a mix of stubbornness and guilt. Eyes wide like he'd been caught stealing secrets. Daniel had scolded him, firmly, the way he should have. The way any responsible adult would. But beneath the sternness, a question kept simmering: Why him?

Ethan Brooks.

The boy with too much confidence for someone so young. The one who walked through campus like he didn't need permission to exist. Girls flirted with him openly. Boys, too. He soaked it in not arrogantly, but like someone who didn't realize he was magnetic. And yet... he'd followed Daniel.

That look in his eyes still lingered. Not just curiosity. Not just admiration. Something needier. Something raw.

Daniel shut the water off with a twist and stepped out, dragging a towel through his hair. He caught his reflection in the mirror, half-obscured by fog, and frowned.

What did Ethan want from him?

What did he want?

He dried off slowly, mechanically, but the quiet of his apartment brought no clarity. Just more questions. Ethan's recklessness had been out of line, yes but beneath it, Daniel sensed something unsettling. Not danger. Not innocence. Something in between. A pull.

Was it attraction? Or was he projecting something that wasn't there?

He exhaled and ran a hand through his wet hair.

Maybe it was just curiosity.

Or maybe and this thought made his throat tighten maybe he saw too much of himself in Ethan. That same restless need, once buried under years of control and detachment.

…..

Across the city, Ethan lay awake, his arms thrown across his pillow, staring at the ceiling like it might offer answers.

The embarrassment still sat heavy in his chest. God, what had he been thinking?

He followed Daniel like some obsessed kid. Thought he could... what? Make a difference? Prove something?

But beneath the humiliation, something else flickered. A heat he didn't understand. A tight, invisible thread pulled through his core.

Why had he done it?

Daniel wasn't just attractive; that was too shallow a word. He was intense. Controlled. Closed off in a way that made Ethan want to break past the walls and see what was hiding inside.

But still; that wasn't enough to explain what he was feeling.

Because Ethan liked girls. Always had. Always would... right?

He had kissed more girls than he could count. Been in relationships. Flirted, dated, messed around.

But none of it ever left him wondering like this.

Tonight had shifted something. Not just in his mind; in his body. And he couldn't ignore it anymore.

He turned over with a groan and pulled the sheets higher.

It was late.

His chest felt heavy.

Maybe sleep would fix it.

...

Daniel's voice came out low, breathless like a secret shared only between them.

His fingers brushed lightly against Ethan's jaw, tracing the line with a tentative insistence that pulled him closer, closer until the space between them vanished.

They were tangled on Daniel's couch, the dim light casting long shadows that flickered with the soft glow of the forgotten bottle on the table. Daniel's tie hung loose, undone in a hurried frustration, his shirt half-open revealing skin warmed by anticipation. His hair was tousled, wild like he'd been running his hands through it trying to chase away thoughts, or maybe inviting them in.

Ethan's hands moved instinctively, sliding up the curves of Daniel's torso, feeling the taut muscle beneath, the subtle warmth radiating through his skin. Every inch was electric, every heartbeat loud in the quiet room.

Daniel kissed him with a desperate hunger; as if years of restraint had finally cracked. His lips were hot, demanding, full of fire that burned through Ethan's nerves, setting every inch of him alight. The kiss was raw, unfiltered, an explosion of desire that left Ethan breathless and dizzy.

Ethan responded with equal fervor. He wanted Daniel; every inch, every whispered breath, every sound that escaped his lips. Their bodies pressed together, moving in a slow, burning rhythm, shedding clothes like barriers dissolving under heat.

The air was thick with an almost sacred energy, something beyond lust; a silent confession in every touch, every tremble. Daniel's voice was a whisper against Ethan's neck, reverent and trembling, "Ethan…"

And Ethan shivered beneath it.

Then Daniel's eyes met his; usually guarded, unreadable now wide and shining with something Ethan had never dared to imagine. Vulnerable. Open. Wanting.

"Are you sure?" Daniel's voice was rough, almost a prayer.

Ethan's heart pounded fiercely, but his answer was steady. "Yes."

The first time was slow, deliberate each moment soaked in softness and heat. The second time was wild, urgent teeth brushing skin, hands clutching with desperate need, Daniel's voice ragged and low in his ear.

Just as Daniel's hand slipped down Ethan's hip, pulling him closer…

RIIIIING….

The shrill scream of Ethan's alarm shattered the moment.

His eyes snapped open, pulse racing, breath caught in his throat.

He blinked at the gray walls of his bedroom, but the early morning light did nothing to clear the fog clouding his mind.

Heat pooled low between his legs, hot and slick, an undeniable reminder that this wasn't just some ordinary dream.

His breath hitched. His heart hammered against his ribs like it wanted to escape.

He jerked the blankets off, the cool air shocking against his flushed skin. His hands trembled, shame and want twisting inside him like a storm.

"What the hell..." he muttered, voice rough, barely a whisper.

His cheeks burned, eyes snapping shut as he struggled to shove the images from his mind Daniel's desperate kisses, the way his hands had felt, the softness behind that usually guarded face.

But the ache lingered, raw and unyielding.

Ethan swallowed hard, fighting the knot in his throat.

God, he hated feeling this exposed like some part of him had broken free that he wasn't ready to face.

Yet beneath the shame was something more primal a hunger that pulsed, refusing to be silenced.

He forced himself upright, hands shaking as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Well," he rasped, voice thick with embarrassment and something else something electric and alive, "that's one hell of a way to start the morning."

He swallowed hard, eyes darting away as a flush crept over his skin, part mortified, part aching with something unnamed. The electric echo of Daniel's presence still buzzed under his skin, impossible to ignore.

For a long moment, he just sat there, caught between shame and desire, wondering what the hell had just happened and what it meant.

His mind reeled. That wasn't just a dream it was a surge of something real, something raw that left his skin tingling and his lips buzzing as if Daniel's kiss was still there.

And Daniel's face etched in his mind with an intensity that refused to fade the way it had softened, broken open. So raw, so human. So unlike the Daniel he knew.

Ethan's heart hammered against his ribs.

He swallowed hard and forced himself to stand, to step into the day.

But inside, something had shifted.

No cold shower or distracted morning could wash away the heat of that night.

Or the weight of Daniel's name, still warm on his lips.