Bobby Lo woke alone in his bed and found a sheet of paper on the pillow next to him, where Mark had been sleeping. It was a watercolour, an intricate creation with two small birds sitting on branches in a bamboo thicket.

Mark was always doing something artistic, painting or drawing or writing poems, and sometimes seemed disappointed when Bobby didn’t say much more than, “It’s very nice” or “It’s great” even though Bobby really meant what he said and just didn’t know what more to say.

He was trying to think of some deep, intelligent remark he could make about the watercolour when Mark appeared, drinking a cup of tea, and of course Bobby stopped thinking. Even though he had seen Mark a thousand times, he was still struck by his lover’s magnificent build. His dick began to throb.

‘Like it?’ asked Mark.

‘It’s great.’

‘Notice the coloration on the shrikes?’

Bobby guessed the “shrikes” were the kind of birds. He studied the picture. ‘Give me a second,’ he said, ‘Just woke up.’ He really couldn’t see much difference. ‘Um … the colours on both of them seem to be pretty much the same.’

‘Exactly,’ said Mark. ‘They are both males.’

‘Ah,’ said Bobby, and smiled. ‘I see.’

‘Did you notice the bamboo they’re sitting on? The branches are separate, but it you follow them, you see they actually twist into each other.’

As he explained all this, Mark leaned down over the picture until his beautifully shaped, deeply defined chest was right at Bobby face, and so naturally Bobby put the tip of his tongue on the fine dark nipple he was going to make tingle with ecstatic pleasure, but Mark drew back suddenly and stepped away, and began rummaging in the closet. He said he needed to get going. ‘Have you seen my ...’ and then he found the clothes he was looking for.

Mark and Bobby were spending more and more time together but Mark hadn’t moved in completely so sometimes he lost track of what things were here and which at the apartment he still shared with another guy. Mark and Bobby were at that stage in their relationship, and had been for about six months now. That stage which can go on for a long time but then end so suddenly.

‘See ya later,’ said Mark. He seemed a little cold.

‘Dinner?’ said Bobby.

‘Sure,’ said Mark and then he was off, leaving Bobby alone and horny as hell.

That afternoon, as Bobby was walking along the Boulevard, on his way back from the gym, he looked up at the window where he’d caught sight more than once of the guy who lived there. He wasn’t always there but when he was he waved to Bobby, who usually nodded and always moved on. Cute guy. Young, slender but not skinny. Well defined. Asian, with curly black hair and a mischievous smile.

The guy was there this time, and this time when he waved, instead of just nodding, Bobby smiled back. The guy gestured for him to come up. It was a little embarrassing. It’s one thing to be slutty in a club at night, but in broad daylight in the middle of the street? Oh, what the hell, thought Bobby. He found the front door of the building, went in, climbed the stairs. His heart, he realised, was beating fast and hard. It had been a while since he’d had an adventure.

As he got to the top of the stairs, a door opened about half way down the hall. Bobby went to it and found the boy standing just inside, with his clothes off. Without a word, the boy stepped forward and kissed Bobby deeply. Then he drew back, sliding his hands along Bobby’s thick arms, then took his hands and pulled him into the room, a small studio apartment. Still saying nothing, he peeled Bobby’s dark blue muscle shirt from him, and gasped, just slightly, an in-drawing of breath, to show his admiration for Bobby’s build. ‘So strong,’ he purred. ‘Martial arts? Kung fu?’

Bobby nodded.

‘I can tell by your …’ He groped for the word as he ran a hand along the deep cuts of Bobby’s upper arms and chest. ‘… The way you’re developed.’

‘Definition.’

‘Ummm – this body for fighting, not just a gym body. I admire so much.’

He unbuttoned Bobby’s pants, lowered them so that Bobby could step out of them, laid them carefully across a chair. Now all Bobby had on was his bikini.

The boy led Bobby to a futon and gently pushed him down. ‘Lie on your stomach to start, OK?’