Chapter 11Suffused by lingering wonder and afterglow, Arthur found that he appreciated Alan’s straightforward lack of embarrassment about stickiness; he also discovered that he did not mind taking charge, even if he wasn’t quite sure about the usual order of things. Alan unselfconsciously peeled off his shirt and stained trousers and underclothes, and Arthur swallowed hard at the first real sight of bare tanned skin, sturdy muscles, a low trail of golden hair. He hadn’t seen any of that, in the bed; and he felt his cheeks flush with something that wasn’t quite shyness and was certainly shot through with a desire to look more.
But Alan was also still bruised and battered, albeit less so; a few bursts of yellow and green and even purple stood out, fading. And he’d said he did get headaches,
