‘There – looks cosy,’ he said, standing back to survey his handiwork.
The bed did look cosy – but Romy couldn’t help thinking it would be even cosier if he was in it with her.
‘So, uh … are you ready to go to bed now?’ he asked her.
‘Um … yeah. I’m pretty beat.’ Suddenly, everything felt very stilted and awkward between them.
‘Yeah, me too. Well, I’ll just go and get ready then.’
While he went to his bedroom to get changed, Romy raced to the bathroom to brush her teeth, then went to her bedroom and flung off her clothes, scrambling into her pyjamas so that she could get into bed before he came back. She heard him in the bathroom as she sprinted across the hall and she dove under the duvet just in time before he came into the room wearing a T-shirt and boxers. He looked surprised to see her already in bed.
‘I’ll just put a few more logs on,’ he said, bending down close to her to stoke up the fire. The fresh logs crackled and sparked as he pushed them into the flames. ‘That should keep it going until morning.’ Then he got up and went over to the light switch. ‘Will I turn the light off?’
Romy looked over at him and nodded. ‘Night,’ she said, closing her eyes and turning away towards the fire.
‘Night.’ She heard him walk back to the couch, and waited for the squeak of the springs as he lay down on it, but it didn’t come.
‘Um, Romy?’ His voice was close and she turned around to find him standing beside her makeshift bed, looking down at her.
‘Yes?’ she whispered, her heart hammering in her ribs.
‘Um … would it be okay if I slept here too?’ he said, indicating her mattress.
‘Oh. Uh … yes. Of course.’ She pulled back the covers on the side nearest him and edged further towards the fire, turning away from him. Oh God, shoot me now.
How was she going to survive a night lying beside him in bed, not touching him, him not touching her? But she could hardly refuse. The couch wouldn’t be very comfortable, especially for someone as tall as Ethan, and she had a double bed. Was it too late to opt for hypothermia? She felt the mattress give as he lay down beside her, felt the warmth of his body at her back. ‘Good night,’ she whispered again, scrunching her eyes tight and praying that sleep would overtake her soon. This was just unbearable.
‘Good night,’ he whispered. She was surprised to feel him lean over her, and then she felt the wet warmth of his lips on her cheek. Little fames of desire curled and leapt in her stomach as his lips lingered on her face, trailing down to her chin. And then they were gone and she felt bereft, her fingers digging into the mattress as she forced herself not to turn around and grab him.
She felt him move closer behind her, and then his fingers were moving lightly through her hair – so lightly she thought she might be imagining it until his other hand moved to her side, edging up underneath her pyjama top and stroking her skin softly.
‘Romy?’ His voice was husky. ‘You’re not really with Kit, are you?’
She realised she’d been holding her breath. ‘No,’ she managed to whisper. God, she’d tell him anything if it meant he’d keep touching her like this. He could get a job with MI5 getting spies to tell him all their secrets.
‘Thank Christ for that!’
His warm hand continued to caress her hip, and as he pulled her gently back into his body, she felt a burst of triumph to discover that he was rock hard. Her inner slut did a happy dance, thrilled that he wanted her too. Or wanted sex, and she happened to be handy – whatever. She didn’t really care. Her libido was already having its very own ticker tape parade in celebration of the victory, and it didn’t much care how it had been achieved.
Then he was leaning over her again, his lips finding hers in the darkness, kissing her softly, sensuously, his tongue tracing along her bottom lip. He pulled back slightly, but she could still feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek. ‘Is this okay?’ he whispered and she nodded, turning to him to grant better access to his roving hands, to show him just how okay it was. He looked more beautiful than ever, his face flushed with desire and warmed by the golden glow of the firelight.
‘Are you warm enough? Can we take this off?’ he asked huskily, grabbing the hem of her pyjama top. ‘I want to see you.’
She nodded and he pushed back the blankets before pulling off her top and then her bottoms and she was naked. For a while, he just looked at her in the light of the flickering fire, watching his hand as he touched every inch of skin he’d exposed, gently caressing her breasts, stroking the gentle swell of her belly and the curve of her hip, while he told her how gorgeous she was and how much he wanted her, until she thought she would go mad if he didn’t put his mouth on her again.
Finally, he kissed her as his hand moved between her legs and he groaned into her mouth when he felt how wet she was. Then he was kissing her everywhere, nibbling and licking and sucking her belly, her breasts, the soft flesh of her inner thighs, until at last he was at the place where she wanted him most, and the waves of pleasure built and built until they reached the zenith and her body rose off the bed, suspended on an invisible thread like an achingly sweet note held on a string, before the vibrations passed and she crashed back down to earth, still trembling as after-shocks rippled through her.
‘Oh my God, you’re so beautiful,’ he panted, pulling her to him.
‘That was amazing,’ she breathed, almost teary with gratitude. She knew it had been a long time for her, but she was pretty sure that would have been a mind-blowing experience under any circumstances.
With his body pressed against hers, she realised that he still had a raging hard-on and she pulled off his boxers so his erection sprang free. She stroked the silky skin, longing to feel him thrusting inside her. But they didn’t have any protection. She was about to slither down the bed to reciprocate when he suddenly sat up.
‘Just give me a minute,’ he said, kissing her swiftly before hopping out of bed. He returned moments later with a string of foil packets.
‘You have condoms?’ she gasped, practically whooping with joy.
‘Always prepared,’ he said, grinning as he opened one of the packets and rolled on a condom before jumping back into bed.
‘You’re a regular boy scout,’ she said as he settled between her legs. And then he was plunging into her and the pleasure started building all over again.
‘Seriously, that was it? You were going out with one condom? You obviously didn’t have high hopes for that party.’
‘I was going to get more when I was out, if I needed to,’ Danny said defensively. ‘How come you don’t have any?’
‘I’ve been … going through a dry patch, I suppose,’ Kit admitted reluctantly, running a hand through his hair. ‘But you were going to a party, for fuck’s sake! With one condom!’
Danny sighed. ‘We’re a disgrace to the gay community.’
‘We’ll be drummed out if anyone finds out.’
They had gone downstairs and were in Kit’s bed ready for round two, when they discovered they had exhausted their resources when they used Danny’s lone condom. Now they were sitting up side by side in the bed, bewailing their fate.
‘Shit!’ Danny kicked the sheet in frustration. ‘Maybe you should look again. Have you checked all your pockets?’
‘I’ve looked everywhere. I don’t have any.’ Kit put his head in his hands and sighed. ‘Oh!’ he exclaimed, suddenly sitting up straight. ‘But I know a woman who does,’ he said, turning to Danny with a grin, his eyes lighting up.
Danny looked at him questioningly, and then realisation dawned. ‘No way! You’re going to ask May for a condom?’
‘Why not? That’s what neighbours do, isn’t it – borrow stuff from each other?’
‘Yeah, eggs and cups of sugar … maybe a bog roll at a pinch.’
‘Well, why should a condom be any different? But you’ll have to ask her,’ Kit said, giving Danny a little kick to shunt him out of bed.
‘
What? Why me?’
‘Because she’ll think I’m cheating on Romy – she thinks we’re together and she knows Romy’s not here.’
‘But – she’s your neighbour. I don’t really know her.’
‘All the more reason. I’ll have to face her every day. You never have to see her again.’
‘Oh, all right,’ Danny sighed, throwing back the duvet and getting out of bed. ‘What will I say?’ he asked as he pulled on his clothes.
‘You could say you’re going to a party and you only have one condom. She knows you’re gay, right? I’m sure she’ll understand.’
‘Very funny.’ Danny grinned at Kit as he shuffled into his shoes.
‘Get plenty – we can pay her back tomorrow. Oh, and get some of the flavoured ones – chocolate, if there are any!’ Kit called after Danny as he went out the door.
Romy woke early the next morning. Ethan was still sleeping deeply, his limbs knotted around hers, warm and heavy. She turned and looked at the fire. It was mostly ash now, but there was still the odd glow of red. She carefully disentangled herself from Ethan and crept out of bed, pulling on her pyjamas. She blushed as she remembered Ethan pulling them off her, kissing her bare skin, nibbling her nipples, her clit, putting his tongue inside her, and his fingers, and finally his big, beautiful cock. He had teased and tormented her for hours and given her the most explosive orgasms of her life. She shivered, fighting the urge to wake him up and start all over again.
Despite the fact that she had been awake for most of the night, she felt amazing. Sex was better than sleep any day of the week! She pulled on a cardigan and crept over to Luke’s basket. He was still sleeping too, so she went into the kitchen and put on some coffee, relishing the time to herself to relive the details of the previous night, smiling to herself as she recalled the little sounds Ethan had made as he thrust inside her, his groans of pleasure and satisfaction, his whimpers of need.
But as she started to come down from her sex-induced high, a million questions flooded her brain. Had Ethan been thinking about her that way all along? When had he decided he would try to have sex with her last night? When he was making the bed? Before that? Would he have made a move on her if they hadn’t ended up in this situation? Was it just a case of any port in a storm – he wanted to have sex and she was the only woman in the vicinity? And the most burning question of all – would he want to do it again or was last night just a one-time-only special?
She suddenly felt very insecure and desperate to know where she stood with him. Kit had told her that Ethan didn’t go in for serious relationships, and casual sex was the order of the day for him. But how casual? Would he think she was being clingy if she wanted to do it again? What if she wanted to do it again lots of times? Did he have a limit to the number of times he’d sleep with the same girl? And what about tonight? Would he expect them to sleep together again? So many questions! Her head was spinning.
Well, she couldn’t carry on like this – she would drive herself mad. As she stood at the counter, sipping her coffee, she looked out the window. The snow was still thick on the ground and another light sprinkling was starting to fall. They would be stuck here for another day at least. She couldn’t spend the whole day on tenterhooks, wondering what was going to happen that night. She would be a nervous wreck, not knowing how to act, what to say, or if she should just say nothing and pretend it hadn’t happened.
She would have it out with him when he got up, she decided. She would make it clear that she wasn’t expecting anything from him, but she needed to know where she stood one way or the other. She would be straightforward and honest and grown-up about it. If he just wanted a one-night stand, that was fine. Well, not fine – the thought that he might not want to do it again made her feel like crying – but she would deal with it. It was the uncertainty she couldn’t bear.
Then she looked up and he was standing there in the doorway, bare-chested, and all she could think was how beautiful he was.
‘Good morning,’ he said, giving her a lazy smile.
God, she just wanted to lick him. She felt her insides melt, and all her resolve sliding away. Stop it, she told herself firmly, you need to sort this out now.
‘Morning,’ she said, standing up and taking her cup over to the sink. She stood there with her back to him for a second while she rinsed it out, regaining her composure. Then, taking a deep breath, she turned to him. ‘So are we having sex now?’ she asked.
He gave a startled laugh. ‘Oh! Um …’ he scratched his head and smiled at her sleepily. ‘Sure,’ he said finally. ‘But … um,’ he hesitated. ‘Do you mind if I just have some Coco Pops first?’ He pointed to the cupboards behind her. ‘Keep my strength up …’
‘Oh no!’ she gasped, feeling herself blushing. ‘I wasn’t asking you to – I didn’t mean right this minute! I meant now as in the present continuous.’
She was babbling and he just stood there, smiling at her. Why didn’t he say something?
She ploughed on. ‘I just need to know. Was last night just a one-off or … I mean it’s fine either way—’
He frowned slightly, stepping closer to her. ‘You really don’t mind either way? That’s not very flattering.’
‘Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant – no pressure, you know. If it was just a one-night stand …’
‘You do realise that isn’t just up to me, right?’
‘Yes, I know that. I just wanted to know, um … what do you think?’
‘Well, for my part, I vote yes.’
‘Yes to …?
‘Yes, we’re having sex now – in the present continuous.’
She smiled and felt her body melting with relief. She hadn’t realised how tense she’d been.
‘What about you?’ he asked.
‘I vote yes too.’
‘Yes to?’
‘To us having sex now, in the present continuous.’
He grinned. ‘That’s unanimous then,’ he said, putting a hand on the side of her face and bending to kiss her while his other hand slid up inside her pyjama top, cupping a breast.
‘What about your Coco Pops?’ she breathed as he nuzzled her neck.
‘Coco Pops can wait.’
‘Don’t you need to keep your strength up?’
‘I’ll be fine,’ he murmured between kisses.
‘Well, something’s up anyway,’ she said, as she felt his erection pressed against her. ‘You really want to do this again now? Before breakfast or anything?’
‘No time like the present continuous.’
‘How did you get so good at this?’ she asked later as they were once more snuggled up on the mattress in front of the fire. ‘You’re twelve. You’re not supposed to know about this stuff.’
‘I aced anatomy.’ He grinned, tracing a lazy pattern on her thigh.
‘Yeah, I can tell.’ She sat up, stretching contentedly. ‘Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked up a hell of an appetite. I need my breakfast.’
‘Me too. I’m starving.’
She turned her head, looking down at him. ‘You don’t really eat Coco Pops do you?’
‘Of course. It’s the breakfast of champions.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘No, it’s the breakfast of five-year-olds. Makes me feel like more of a cradle-snatcher than ever.’
‘Well, that was a turn-up for the books,’ Danny said the following morning, as he and Kit lay wrapped around each other in bed.
‘You didn’t know I was gay?’ Kit asked, stroking Danny’s hair. ‘Didn’t even suspect?’
‘No, not at all. So Romy knows?’
‘I haven’t exactly told her, but I think she guessed. I suppose she’s got good gaydar because of you.’
‘She never said anything.’
‘Well, she wouldn’t. She knows I’m not out.’
Danny stirred, pulling back a little. ‘Why aren’t you?’ He frowned.
Kit sighed. ‘It just sort of … happened that way. I was already i
n New York when I realised I was gay, so there was no need to tell my family. They didn’t have to know about the life I lived over there.’
‘Do you not think they’d have been cool about it?’
‘No, that’s the funny thing – I’m sure they would have been. But at first there seemed no need, and then the more time passed without telling them, the harder it became. I felt they’d be hurt that I hadn’t told them before – like it meant I didn’t trust them. I suppose I kind of painted myself into a corner.’
‘So, Romy is like your … beard?’ Danny said the word like it was something completely preposterous that he’d only ever come across in movies – which somehow struck Kit as quite likely.
‘Basically, yeah.’
‘And you had girlfriends like that in New York? Fake ones?’
‘Yeah, all the time.’ Kit sighed. ‘I was working on Wall Street, it’s a very macho environment. It’s tough enough without giving yourself added complications. It’s just a lot easier doing business if you can be one of the guys, you know?’
‘Not really,’ Danny said, smiling wryly.
‘No, I don’t suppose you would.’ Kit leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Danny’s forehead. ‘That’s one of the things I like about you.’
‘That I’m not one of the guys?’
‘That you don’t pretend to be something you’re not.’
‘That’s ironic, coming from you.’
‘Believe me, I know.’
They were interrupted by the buzzing of the text alert on Danny’s phone. He scrabbled around on the floor for his jeans and pulled his mobile out of the pocket.
Kit threw back the duvet and got out of bed while Danny read his text. ‘I’m going to make coffee,’ he said as he pulled on jeans and a sweater.
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