Lubes City (Steamy BL Stories)

“You’re still at the office?” Claire’s voice came through the phone, warm and a little impatient. “I’ve been waiting almost an hour.”

Nathan held the phone between his shoulder and ear while he locked the design firm’s glass doors. “Last client change ran long. I’m leaving now. Where are you?”

“I got tired of sitting at home, so I stopped by Theo’s. He’s making that pasta you like. Come pick me up and we can still eat together.”

Nathan smiled as he walked toward his car. “Tell him I’ll be there in fifteen. Don’t let him finish the whole pot without me.”

Claire laughed softly. “I’ll try. Drive safe.”

The call ended. Nathan drove across town with the windows slightly opened, the evening air cool against his face. Theo’s building looked the same as always. It was made of brick, green door, the old oak tree out front. He parked, climbed the stairs, and used the key Theo had given him years ago.

Soft jazz drifted from the living room. Nathan stepped inside and called out, “Hope you saved me some of that pasta.”

Silence answered him instead.

That was weird, but he brushed it off, walking farther inside instead but on getting to the living room, he stopped dead on his track.

Claire sat on the edge of the couch with her blouse pushed open and her bra pulled down. Theo leaned over her, one hand gripping her waist while the other cupped her bare breast. Their mouths moved together in a deep, hungry kiss. Claire’s head tipped back against the cushion as a soft, broken moan slipped out of her throat. The sound was low and wet and filled with extreme pleasure. Nathan could see the flush across her chest, the way her fingers were tangled in Theo’s hair, the slight roll of her hips against Theo’s thigh. The air smelled of her perfume, Theo’s cologne, and the faint salt of skin.

Nathan let out a really deep exhale. Heat flooded his face and neck. His fingers dug into the doorframe until they turned red.

Claire’s eyes snapped opened. She saw him over Theo’s shoulder and froze. Color immediately drained from her cheeks so fast it looked painful. She shoved Theo backward with both hands and scrambled to yank her blouse closed.

“Nathan… oh my God.” Her voice cracked as she tried to cover herself. “Please… wait.”

Theo turned towards the door. The moment their eyes met, the calm lawyer expression he always wore in court vanished. His face went totally pale. He stood slowly, hands open at his sides like he didn’t know what to do with them.

“Nate,” Theo said, voice low and rough. “I’m so sorry. You weren’t supposed to walk in on this. I never wanted you to see any of it. Please… just give me a second to explain.”

Nathan’s throat felt dry. He could still hear the sound of Claire’s moan in his ears. The jazz kept playing in the background.

“How long?” Nathan asked. The words came out quieter than he expected.

Theo didn’t look away. “Three weeks… I should have stopped it the first time it happened. I should have told you the truth the next morning. Instead I let it continue and I kept quiet. That was selfish and cruel, and I own every bit of it. I’m sorry, Nate. I'm truly sorry. You deserved better from both of us. Please believe that.”

Claire stood up, still clutching her blouse with shaking hands. Her voice came out small and genuine, almost pleading. “Nate, please look at me. It wasn’t some planned betrayal. Actually, I came here after that fight we had last month because I felt lonely and stupid and you were always working late, you were never there, never listened but Theo did.

“So that's your excuse for having an affair with my best friend?” Nathan asked angrily.

“I'm sorry… Nathan”

“So, tell me. How'd it happen?” Nathan asked.

“We were both drunk that night, and I kissed him. I know I shouldn’t have but I kept coming back even when I knew it was wrong. I’m so ashamed. Please… I never wanted to hurt you like this.” Claire pleaded.

Nathan stared at her with utter disbelief. The woman he had planned to marry stood in his best friend’s living room with her clothes half-fixed and guilty tears pooling in her eyes. The engagement ring on his own finger suddenly felt heavy.

“You both decided three weeks was long enough to keep this from me,” he said.

Theo took one careful step forward and then stopped. “You’re right. I was a coward. Every day I told myself I would end it and come clean, and every day I failed. I hurt the person who’s been in my corner since we were kids. There is no excuse that makes this okay. I’m so sorry about what I did to you. Please… let me at least try to make it right somehow.”

Claire’s voice cracked again. “Nate, please. I know I broke your trust. I know the picture you just saw is going to stay with you. But I still love you. I’m not asking you to forgive me tonight. I’m just asking you not to walk away forever without letting me try to fix what I destroyed.”

Nathan shook his head. “It wasn’t one night. It was weeks of choices. And it happened with the person I trusted most after you.”

Theo’s voice stayed steady even though his eyes looked wrecked. “You’re right about all of it. If you need me to stay away, I will. Just tell me what you need right now. Please.”

Nathan turned toward the door. His hands felt cold. “Right now I need to leave.”

“Nate, please…” Claire started.

“Don’t follow me,” he said without looking back. “Either of you.”

He stepped into the hallway and closed the door. The click sounded too loud in the quiet stairwell. Outside, the night air hit his face like cold water as he got out. He sat in the car with both hands on the wheel, staring at the green door until his vision blurred. The soft moan Claire had made kept replaying in his head, mixed with the sight of Theo’s hand on her bare skin.

His phone buzzed and Theo’s name lit the screen. Nathan let it ring out without bothering to pick it. After ringing for a while, a text followed almost immediately.

*I know you don’t want to hear from me. I’m sorry. Truly sorry. None of this was meant to destroy what we had. If you need space, it’s yours. Just know I’m so sorry about what I did. Please… take care of yourself tonight.*

Nathan read the message twice. His chest ached in a way that went deeper than just anger. Under the shock he felt something hotter and more confusing that made no sense. He put the phone face down and drove away from the curb.

He didn’t go home that night. The thought of walking into the apartment he shared with Claire made his stomach turn. Instead he checked into a small hotel near the river and paid for two nights in cash. The room smelled of clean sheets and old carpet. He sat on the edge of the bed in the dark and let the evening replay itself; Claire’s flushed chest, the broken sound of her moan, Theo’s pale face and open hands.

Around midnight Claire called. He answered because the silence had grown too heavy.

“Nathan, please… where are you?” Her voice sounded thick and raw. “Please come home so we can talk properly. Or let me come to you. I can’t stand not knowing if you’re okay.”

“Not tonight.”

“I know I don’t deserve to ask for anything. I just… please don’t shut me out completely. I love you and I’m so sorry. I’ll do anything you need. Counseling, space, whatever it takes. Please just give me a chance to show you.”

Nathan stared at the dark window. “It wasn’t one night, Claire. It was three weeks. And it happened with Theo. Theo's my best friend Claire.” He said with hurt.

There was a long pause filled with her quiet crying. “He feels terrible too. He called me after you left and told me he would stay completely away if that’s what you needed. Please… just don’t decide everything while you’re still in shock.”

“I need time,” Nathan said. The word came out flatter than he intended. “Don’t come looking for me yet.”

He ended the call before she could answer. The hotel room felt smaller afterward. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, but the image of Theo’s hand on Claire’s bare breast and the soft, private moan she had made refused to fade. Along with the betrayal came that same strange heat low in his stomach, the he one that made no sense and refused to leave.

The next morning Nathan went to work because staying in the hotel room felt worse. He answered emails with the same calm voice he always used, fixed two layouts that had broken overnight, and ate lunch at his desk without tasting any of it. Every time the office grew quiet he heard Claire’s moan again. At six he left the building and walked the long way back to the hotel instead of driving, hoping the movement would clear his head, though it didn’t. The second day was the same, filled with work, hotel bed, the same images looping until he finally slept for a few restless hours.

On the third evening Theo texted again.

*I’m at the spot by the bridge. I'm just sitting. If you want to talk, or even if you only want to sit in silence, I’ll be here for a while. Please… only come if you want to.*

Nathan stared at the message for a long time. The place under the bridge was where they had talked through every hard thing since university. He almost deleted the text. Instead he put on his jacket and drove over.

Theo sat on the low stone wall with a paper cup of coffee beside him. When Nathan approached, Theo looked up but didn’t smile. His eyes held the same quiet regret Nathan had seen in the apartment.

“You came,” Theo said.

Nathan sat a few feet away. The river moved dark and steady beneath them. “I almost didn’t.”

“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you didn't.”

They sat for a while without speaking for sometime.

Then Theo spoke first, his voice low and careful. “I keep seeing the look on your face when you walked in. I hate that I put it there. You didn’t deserve any of this. Please believe I’m not trying to make excuses. I just need you to know how sorry I am.”

Nathan kept his eyes on th