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.

XXX

The sky was a blaze of colour. Liam couldn’t think of any words to describe it which hadn’t been used a thousand times before.

He leant on the rail of the verandah around his cabin and stared at the sunset. He and Sophie had been out all day snorkelling and he had been pleasantly tired and looking forward to dinner when he saw that Ben had left a message on his phone.

He was still trying to gather his thoughts together before he ran into Tim again.

Why couldn’t he make up his mind? The sensible part of his brain knew that he should walk away from the other man. The very fact that he was so muddled was a good indication that he needed some time out. It was too soon. He needed to get his own act together before he involved any one else. He liked Tim. A lot. He didn’t want to hurt him, he didn’t want to hurt anyone.

He was so wrapped in his own thoughts that he didn’t hear the person approaching from behind. A hand came to rest low on his back, just above the waistband of his board shorts.

“Hi. Sophie told me you were here.”

Startled, he swung around, only to find himself trapped against the railing. Before he could say anything, two firm hands came up to hold his face and two warm lips came down on his in a hard kiss. A tongue probed determinedly for entry to his mouth. He resisted for only a second before opening his lips, deepening the kiss, his hands dropping to rest on the narrow hips of the man in front of him. Then he pulled away, heart thudding in his chest.

The other man drew back, his breathing heavy. “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist. So, what’s your answer? Do you want to have an affair with me, or are you still tied to Ben?”

Liam shut his eyes for a moment. “I’m not tied to Ben.” he said carefully. “He dumped me with a text message.” To his horror, his eyes suddenly filled with tears.

“I’m sorry.” Tim wiped them away gently with his thumbs. “And I’m probably not helping by hitting on you hey?” he smiled ruefully.

“It’s not your fault,” Liam managed. “It’s nice to be wanted.”

He pulled Tim closer, resting his head on his shoulder. He could feel that the other man was already aroused, his erection was pushing against his stomach.

He gave a watery smile. “That feels good.”

Tim laughed. He gave Liam a hug but then stood back. “Not tonight, it’s too soon.”

For a moment Liam wanted to throw caution to the winds, Tim felt so good in his arms. So what if Ben didn’t want him? It was clearly evident that Tim did. He lifted his face, his lips seeking Tim’s for another kiss but Tim wouldn’t let him.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“But what if I want you to?” The tip of his tongue came out and licked his bottom lip provocatively.

Tim took another step back, and ran a hand through his hair. “If you still feel that way in a few days ...” He couldn’t believe he was turning Liam down, but he wanted more than sex on the rebound.

“For now, let’s just go for a walk on the beach, enjoy the sunset. And you can tell me all about whatshisname. The total fuckwit.”

Despite himself, Liam smiled. “All right.”