The Professionals Circuit Archive - Office Romance	   Office Romance

 

by Livia Collins 

 
 "Bloody hell Ray! Smells like someone's died in here. Not like you to let
food go off." Bodie said, a touch of sarcasm lacing his voice as he turned
to face Doyle his nose scrunched against the pong from the fridge.

 "'S not off you bloody philistine, it's supposed to smell like that. Very
bloody expensive cheese that is." Doyle retorted haughtily and moved
across the room to close the fridge door that Bodie had purposely left
wide open.

 "Go and get dressed and I'll make you some lunch before you leave, have
some bacon here somewhere I think. Bacon sarnies do?"

 Doyle was looking in the fridge, scratching his head, trying to locate
the bacon, a distraction that Bodie seized upon and quietly moved behind
him.

 Just as Bodie had planned, when Doyle attempted to turn round he couldn't
move, trapped as he was between Bodie and the fridge. Bodie's arms wrapped
round him and pulled him flush against his chest sighing at the contact
and casually repositioned himself so his already hard cock was resting
snugly against the cleft of Doyle's arse.

 Not for the first time he was disappointed that Doyle insisted they wear
robes around the house during the day or night, only the bedroom was a
robe free zone.

 It was only here in Doyle's or in his own flat that he enjoyed being
naked and even more than that he enjoyed Doyle being naked with him but
Doyle insisted. Doyle had been the one to encourage Bodie to feel
comfortable in his skin and now that he was revelling in that newfound
freedom Doyle had put limitations on it. It was for their own good but
still Bodie questioned Doyle, probably just to annoy him, and that brought
a smile to his face as he thought about one such conversation they'd had
last week on the subject.

 "Jesus Bodie, put on a bloody robe," Doyle had said, and not for the
first time. "what if someone were to call in."

 "Who the hell's going to call at this time of night Ray?" he had asked,
for at least the hundredth time.

 "The bloody cow that's who Bodie and I don't think the old man's going to
buy your bloody naturism story with you standing there in all you glory
sporting a massive hard-on."

 "Well thanks very much for the massive comment sunshine but Christ Ray,
you'd think, to listen to you, that I can't control myself." He replied a
little indignantly.

 "Ah Bodie, I'm sorry, I know you can control yourself but it's just too
dangerous and you know it is." Doyle had said and he pulled Bodie into a
hug and placed a rather innocent kiss on Bodie's lips and Bodie's cock had
responded in a way that made him question again just how in control he
really was.

 Still standing in front of the fridge, the warmth of Doyle all down his
body, he canted his hips slightly ensuring that Doyle could feel the nudge
of his cock where it rested against him and he began to nuzzle Doyle's
neck.

 "What time you expecting her?" Bodie asked softly between kissing Doyle's
neck and sucking gently on his earlobe.

 "'Bout seven." Doyle replied wiggling back against Bodie, fanning the
flames of arousal.

 "That's ages away Ray. Plenty of time to eat lunch after."

 "After?" Doyle asked a smirk on his lips.

 "Yeah, after breakfast. Come on, back to bed sunshine, have to have my
breakfast before I can have my lunch." And he turned Doyle round and
kissed him soundly before steering them back to the bedroom. He left much
later

 On his way home his mind began once again to mull over their situation.
It was becoming harder and harder for Bodie to pretend that their
arrangement was still working. He was beginning to feel the strain. It was
his own fault; he had set the rules at the beginning and had made Doyle
agree to his demands before continuing something that had taken them both
by surprise.

 The op had required them to pose as a gay couple and Bodie was amused to
realise that they really didn't have to act very differently than they
usually did, more affectionate certainly, especially Doyle and that was
another thing that Bodie had found amusing. Doyle threw himself into the
part with gusto and Bodie liked this new affectionate Doyle, he liked him
a lot.

 He hadn't expected Doyle to kiss him though, even after all these years
of knowing how immersed Doyle became when undercover the kiss had still
been a surprise. Things had become decidedly tricky.

 They knew that the guesthouse was being watched and they were careful to
only get one room but there was no vantage point for the local
constabulary to see into it and a quick bug sweep each night told them
that the room was clean. That left the Gay Youth centre. There were plenty
of other buildings in the street, facing the offices, where any decent
detective could get a clear view inside and so that was where most of the
acting went on. They needed to draw out the enemy and evidently Doyle
decided he knew exactly how to do it.

 The day it had happened Bodie had been standing at the window looking out
to the street, willing the bad coppers to make their move so that they
could go home when Doyle had come up behind him. He could feel the heat of
Doyle's body through his clothes and he remembered thinking that there was
no reason for his partner to be standing so close behind him, the
proximity of his partner was making him feel hot and slightly uneasy and
then Doyle wrapped his arms around Bodie and began to nuzzle his neck all
the while knowing they were being watched.

 "Naughty Ray. If I didn't know any better I'd think you wanted to give
them a *real* show." He had said trying to put Doyle off as his body began
to respond to the warmth plastered against it.

 It was the tone of Doyle's voice, as he responded, not the response
itself, which shocked Bodie into turning to face his partner.

 "Who says you know better?" Doyle had said quietly and without a hint of
irony.

 Bodie turned, their faces were mere inches apart and Bodie found that
Doyle's face was flushed his breathing uneven and Bodie knew he was in a
similar state. He wanted to warn Doyle off this course because Bodie had
begun, even before this, to get the feeling that they were playing with
fire and the game could all too easily get out of hand.

 "Ray..." he said in a warning tone. "...don't bite off more than you can
chew."

 Doyle just smiled then and leaned in towards him and Bodie found that his
lips were covered by his partners cutting off any chance of further speech
as his senses were assaulted and overwhelmed.

 Bodie had wrapped his arms around Doyle, as the kiss became more and more
urgent. Bodie could feel his cock harden against his trousers as his
arousal grew and grew and he found himself pulling Doyle closer, flush
against his body and wasn't shocked to find an answering hardness in his
partner's jeans. Doyle's hands' had dropped to his arse and suddenly,
violently, Doyle pulled him closer, purposefully ensuring that their
crotches rubbed together leaving them in no doubt as to what their body's
wanted.

 Suddenly, in the street, they heard a screech of tyres and reluctantly
pulling apart, saw two cars pull up outside the offices and they realised
it was ShowTime, back to work.

 One good copper, one good copper had been Doyle's mantra and against all
odds his instinct had been right. They were safe, it had been a close call
but they had survived and they were both glad that they were going home.

 Doyle was driving and had stopped outside Bodie's flat to drop him off
but Bodie had felt reluctance in them both, a reluctance to separate and
the offer of a drink, extended to Doyle then, had set the wheels in motion
for the nightmare of emotion and confusion he was now experiencing.

 "It's only curiosity, a taste of the forbidden makes it seem exciting,
you know?" Bodie had said when they got into the flat. Better to take the
bull by the horns and get everything out into the open he had thought. At
least this way he believed he could keep control of the situation.

 "Yeah? In that case I'm a very curious person." Doyle had replied with a
seductive smile and that coupled with one of Doyle's unfeigned poses that
oozed sensuality, Bodie couldn't resist.

 "As it happens, so am I." Was Bodie's answer before he went willingly
into Doyle's arms and they made their way to his bed to begin exploring
one another.

 That first coupling had been quick and awkward. Both of them were,
strange as it may seem even to Bodie now, unused to men but it had been
powerful and something that Bodie could never have predicted and later a
slow, sensuous, yet still vaguely awkward, exploration of each other that
he could have predicted even less.

 "Lust!" He proclaimed afterward, "Happens all the time. Office romance
that's all, well not romance exactly but you know what I mean. In our job,
the situations we get into, the adrenalin can get you this way. We'll get
sick of each other soon and then back to normal. Right Ray?" he waited for
an answer from his drowsing partner, but none was forth coming. "Ray?"

 "Yeah Bodie, I get it...office romance, be over soon...fine." Doyle had
replied sleepily his breath warm on Bodie's shoulder, Bodie's arm around
him holding him close in the aftermath and Bodie was *almost* satisfied.

 "Happens everywhere, could happen to anyone." Bodie had said
determinedly, not willing to let the matter drop just yet. He didn't know
why he needed the situation clarified but he felt as though he wasn't in
control and not being in control left him feeling decidedly edgy. "It'll
be business as usual with the birds and all till this blows over. Right?"
no reply again. "Ray?"

 "Yeah Bodie, birds...business as usual." Doyle replied very sleepily and
finally placated, Bodie pulled his somnolent partner closer and fell
asleep.

 That had been two years, three months, two weeks and five days ago and
there was no sign of him getting sick of Doyle and no sign of Doyle
getting sick of him. God! That fact really got on his nerves. He had given
this aberration three or four turns around the bedroom before fizzling out
but at every turn had been outfoxed by his own desire and that of Doyle's.

 The nakedness thing was only one of many unexpected and unwanted changes
he had perceived in himself. He had become softer, more indulgent and
protective of Doyle, needy of his partner and the worst of all; he had
become settled, settled with Doyle. They had been through a lot in those
two years. There had been a hell of a lot of close shaves, too close for
comfort, there had been a lot of women and even some that had looked as
though they might be keepers but they never lasted. More than once in the
last two years, which had flown in his opinion, he had sat himself down
and given himself a severe talking to about it all. He had had to remind
himself that what went on between himself and Doyle in the bedroom was
just sex that was what they had agreed to. Sex was not to be confused with
or woven into the fabric of their friendship, which was, incredibly,
deeper and stronger than it had ever been and Bodie knew that the heady
combination of sex and friendship led to feelings he was not prepared to
give into.

 Tonight he was going on a date with the lovely Michelle and in reality
should have been more than satisfied with his lot. Who could resist those
charms? He asked himself. Legs to her armpits long brown hair, a beautiful
face and dynamite in bed, what more could a man ask for?

 Bodie found himself more and more often asking for the whirlwind of
passion who had brown curls with an auburn tint and stubble over an
imperfect face and chest hair that tickled his nose as he sucked a nipple
and athletes legs and stamina and cock, soft and hard and beautiful in his
hand or in his mouth and finally lips and mouth, that did such things to
him, he wished sometimes that he would be eaten alive and be done with it.

 Michelle and every other bird offered none of these things.

 Bodie poured himself a large scotch and turned the tele on before
flopping onto the settee. He had wanted to see the football results but
found that he couldn't concentrate. He began to pace the room then, his
head swimming with questions about himself and Doyle and images of himself
and Doyle and then images of Doyle with someone other than himself and he
could hear Dickie Davis twittering on in the background along with the
sound of the bloody teletype displaying the football results and he
thought his head would explode with it all until, suddenly, something
snapped, the fog cleared and he knew just what he needed to do in order to
keep his sanity.

 A while later he emerged from the bathroom, steam billowing from behind
him, following him into the hall, he was feeling refreshed and incredibly
clear headed, ready to face the music, ready to face Ray Doyle in any
temper, this situation had to stop and stop now and he couldn't wait till
tomorrow to get it done.

 He dressed quickly and made a phone call to Michelle breaking their date,
citing work as the culprit, knowing that he wouldn't be seeing her again
and then grabbed his jacket and keys and headed out to travel the well
worn road to Ray Doyle's flat.

 He didn't care that Doyle was entertaining, he didn't care that he had
been slaving over a hot stove for most of the day, he didn't care that
Doyle would be angry with him and he was ready if things got physical.

 He leaned on the buzzer, body humming in anticipation of the fight that
was sure to follow his interruption.

 "Yeah." Doyle's voice broke through the night air.

 "It's me." He replied knowing that was all he needed to say as he heard
the click of the latch as Doyle let him in.

 When he got to the landing, the door was ajar and he walked straight in
closing it behind him and made his way to the living room and to Doyle's
little dinner party for two.

 He was edgy, agitated and restless. He knew that Doyle could tell, that
Doyle could feel the tension coming off him in waves and Doyle rose from
the table.

 "Trouble?" Doyle asked his face full of questions and concern.

 "Yeah," he replied and then just to emphasise the full extent of the
trouble he added. "...sorry to break up your evening like this." And he
smiled at Doyle's bird, he couldn't for the life of him remember her name
but that didn't matter he just needed her to be gone.

 He walked further into the living room towards the window leaving Doyle
to get rid of the girl. Hearing the door snick closed he took a deep
breath and turned to face Doyle who was walking towards him his face full
of concern.

 "Is it bad?" Doyle asked worry growing more pronounced in his voice.

 "The worst." Was all Bodie could say as Doyle turned away from him and
grabbed his coat.

 "Come on then." Doyle said motioning for Bodie to follow him and when
Bodie made no move to go the concern in his face gave way to what Bodie
could only describe as puzzlement. "What's going on Bodie?" Doyle asked in
a low voice.

 "Sorry Ray, it's not work, just needed you to get rid of Suzie or Sarah
or Sandra or whatever her name was. I needed to talk to you." He said by
way of explanation.

 "Pamela, her name was Pamela," Doyle said shaking his head in disbelief
before continuing. "...and are you telling me that you interrupted our
evening just so you and I could have a chat? This had better be good
Bodie." Doyle finished his voice a mixture of curiosity and anger. Bodie
nodded his head before beginning to speak.

 "Okay here it is then. I...I mean we...I mean I can't go on with our
arrangement anymore Ray." He said not really explaining things well and
realising that this was going to be harder than he had expected, thinking
about it was one thing, saying all he needed to say to Doyle was quite
another.

 "What are you on about Bodie?" Doyle said struggling to understand what
his partner was talking about. "Are you talking about the squad? Do you
want to be re-teamed?" he asked and looked straight at Bodie fear now
replacing every other emotion on his face.

 "No Doyle, It's not that, I don't want re-teamed. I mean our arrangement.
Office romance, remember, the fact that we sleep together. I can't go on
with it anymore." Bodie said head hung and face a mask of sadness. He
didn't think he could continue, after all his bravado in coming here he
didn't think he had the balls to go on. He looked up at Doyle and found
that his partner was looking every bit as sad and lost as he felt, God!
Could this get any worse?

 "You got sick of me then? I suppose it was only a matter of time really
after all that's what you said from the start, office romance, taste of
the forbidden. It's okay Bodie I understand." Doyle spoke in a low sad
voice and Bodie was taken aback at this show of emotion but before he
could speak Doyle continued. "I'm going to miss it though, not just the
sex but us, you know? I'm going to miss us." A shrug of the shoulders
then. "But I suppose there was never really an us to begin with, eh
Bodie."

 Bodie was heartened by Doyle's speech and some of his bravado returned
and he spoke with a renewed determination.

 "There is most definitely an us and that's why I can't go on with our
arrangement." Doyle looked up at him his expression one of confusion. "I
want to change the rules Ray."

 "What are you saying?" He asked his voice slightly raised.

 "I mean no office romance excuse, no forbidden fruit excuse, no excuses
for us at all and definitely no more business as usual with the birds." He
stopped and looked at Doyle who was looking slightly more hopeful with
every word Bodie was saying. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't want
to share you anymore, if there is an us I want it to be just us. I don't
want to pretend that there are no feelings involved, that it's just sex
because it isn't just sex, not for me anyway. I want us to have a proper
go; I want us to have a proper relationship." He finished wishing he was
better able to explain himself and waited for Doyle's response.

 Doyle smiled then, a blinding smile one of the ones that always did
things to Bodie's insides and said

 "I love you too Bodie."

 Bodie just laughed, happiness spilling out from the expression on his
face as he walked to Doyle and pulled him into a desperate hug.

 "I love you Ray." Bodie said finally and he was relieved it was out in
the open.

 "I know. I should be happy really it's only taken you two years, three
months, two weeks and five days to realise it." Doyle said, humour lacing
his voice as he took Bodie's hand and led him to the bedroom.

 -- THE END --

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