Ten minutes later Patrick had finished telling Sean everything that had happened—leaving absolutely nothing out since he owed him for many similar conversations involving Sean’s girlfriend—when Will came out all dressed and ready for work. He looked unfairly hot for someone who was about to leave.
“Just a minute,” Patrick said into the phone, then covered it with his hand and stood up. He followed Will to the door, only realizing how odd that might seem when they were already there. Patrick felt a rush of embarrassment and rubbed at the back of his neck, while trying not to blush.
“I’ll see you later, then.” Will pulled his coat from the rack and turned back to give Patrick a kiss, taking him by surprise. Patrick froze for a second or two before slipping his hand onto Will’s shoulder and kissing him back.
He tasted of minty toothpaste, and Patrick suddenly remembered that he hadn’t yet brushed his teeth and pulled back quickly. Will gave him a questioning look, so Patrick shrugged and said, “Morning breath.”
“I don’t care.” Will reeled him in again, clearly not bothered, and Patrick gave in to it, enjoying the firm press of Will’s hips as he crowded Patrick back against the wall. It lasted far longer than Patrick expected. He began to wonder if Will might be persuaded to call in sick, but then Will eventually drew back, a teasing smile on his face. “I’m going to be late.”
Patrick smiled back, unable to stop himself from leaning forward and giving Will one last kiss before turning him around and pushing him out the door. “Go on, then. Some of us have plans for the day.”
Will laughed as he walked down the path, and Patrick was all smiles still as he shut the door and walked back into the lounge, only remembering he’d left Sean waiting when he glanced down at the phone in his hand. “Shit, sorry!” he said, bringing it up to his ear to check if Sean was still there. “Sean?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Thanks for that, by the way. I always wanted a front row seat to you getting it on with your boyfriend.”
“Piss off, he’s not my boyfriend.”
“You sure about that?” Sean sighed down the phone, the sort of sigh that meant he was about to say something he really didn’t want to, but felt he had to for Patrick’s own good. “Look, Patrick. Are you sure this is such a good idea?”
“It’s a great idea. Two weeks of ‘no strings’ sex with a really nice, really hot guy. It’s probably the best idea I’ve had in a long while.”
Sean laughed at that, but Patrick knew he hadn’t finished making his point, and he waited for the rest of it.
“It’s just, you’ve liked him forever, and I’m not sure you can do ‘casual.’ I don’t want you to end up getting hurt.”
“I know what I’m doing, Sean.”
“Do you? Because whatever you two were doing just now sounded pretty cosy to me, and you’ve not even fucked yet.”
Patrick thought about the kiss in the hallway, the way Will had smiled at him as he left. And yeah, maybe he hadn’t expected to get a kiss good-bye, but they were going to be having sex, for Christ’s sake! Surely kissing went hand in hand with that, whether the relationship was casual or not.
“Look,” Sean started, when Patrick had been silent for too long. “If this is what you want, and you think you can handle it, then I’m happy for you, honestly. God knows it’s about time you got some action.”
“Fuck off. It’s not beenthatlong.” He laughed a little, thankful that Sean was letting it go for now. “I’ve got shit to do today, so I’ll text you later.”
“Yeah, okay. Catch you later.”
They hung up, and Patrick tossed his phone onto the cushion next to him, his good mood from earlier turning a little sour as Sean’s words ran through his mind. He had fancied Will for ages, there was no denying that part, but it wasn’t like Patrick was in love with him or anything. He was twenty-two, hardly the age where he wanted to find someone and settle down.
Patrick pushed his conversation with Sean to the back of his mind and got ready for the day. He wanted to get a part-time job sorted soon. Having no money would suck, he wouldn’t be able to do any of the things he had planned, and besides, that would probably mean asking his parents for food money. With that in mind, he walked down to the local shops and began the tedious task of going inside and asking if they had any vacancies.
The café looked nice inside, and the woman who owned it was lovely, but unfortunately they’d taken someone on the week before. Patrick cursed his bad timing but smiled politely and moved on. Both Argos and Sainsbury’s had jobs going, but Patrick didn’t fancy working in either of those places. He decided he’d try once more before going back to the flat for some lunch. The coffee shop opposite the supermarket happened to be part of a chain Patrick actually liked, so he ordered a latte and quizzed the barista while he waited.
“So,” Patrick said, watching with interest as the guy worked the coffee machine. “Any jobs going at the minute?” The guy had deft hands as he prepared Patrick’s drink, and Patrick snapped his gaze away before his mind inevitably slipped into the gutter.
The guy looked up and met his eyes, smiling. “Wow, you’ve got perfect timing. Nick quit yesterday to go traveling for three months.” He poured out Patrick’s coffee and pushed it toward him. There was no one waiting so the guy leaned on the counter, obviously willing to chat for a bit. “He left us pretty short-staffed, and I know they haven’t had a chance to get anyone else in yet. Might be your lucky day.” He held out his hand for Patrick to shake. “I’m Christian, by the way.”
“Patrick.”
“Want me to get the manager? She’s in the back office.”
Patrick grinned and nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great.” Patrick took his coffee and settled at one of the nearby tables and waited for Christian to return.
Thirty minutes later and Patrick had a two-day trial starting tomorrow. If he did okay, and he liked it, then the job was his. The hours were a little less than he’d been hoping for, but not by much. He said good-bye to Christian and headed back to the flat feeling great at how his morning had gone. With the prospect of an evening with Will to look forward to, Patrick was almost bouncing with energy. The sun had burned through the early cloud cover, leaving a beautiful day, and Patrick decided a run might be just the thing to take the edge off his mood. Seeing Will in his gear had reminded him it’d been almost a week since he’d done any exercise, and he was starting to feel it.
So, lunch first, then run. With any luck he could waste most of the afternoon that way, and not have to sit around clock-watching, waiting for Will to get back.
OF ALLthe days for things to go tits up at work, this had to be one of the worst. Will checked his watch again, cursing softly, when he saw the time—six o’clock already. He normally left at four thirty, but they’d had a problem with the latest software release, and unfortunately Will was the only one available to deal with it.
