“Well, I’m assuming it’s one of your friends, and honestly, Ben, they’re a great bunch of lads, so I don’t get why you’re being weird.”
“I’m not being weird.”
Patrick gave him his best “yeah right” look and sat up a bit. “Seriously, I won’t have a problem sharing with any of them,” he said, nudging Ben with his shoulder. “Well, except Will maybe, but that’s only because—”
Patrick stopped, the words dying on his tongue as he noticed Ben wince.
“No.” He jumped off the bed, fisting his hands in his hair. “No fucking way. Ben, please tell me you’re not leaving mealonefor two weeks with the guy I have a huge unrequited, and frankly, embarrassing, crush on?”
Ben shrugged. “He needed somewhere to stay. I’d sort of forgotten you had the hots for him.”
“How could you forget?” Patrick paced in front of the bed. “The last time I was here, I tried to climb into his lap and told him how hot he was. In front of his boyfriend.”
“Oh yeah.” Ben grinned, and Patrick stopped his pacing to punch him on the arm.
“It’s not funny.”
“It was hilarious.” Ben ducked out of the way when Patrick tried to punch him again. “Look, you were drunk. We all were. He doesn’t hold it against you.”
“But he won’t have forgotten.” The whole thing still made Patrick cringe every time he thought about it. He may have been drunk, but sadly not drunk enough to wipe the horrifying experience from his brain.
“Sit down. I think you might be overreacting just a tad.” Ben even used his finger and thumb to demonstrate how much he thought Patrick was overreacting before grabbing Patrick’s arm and yanking him back down onto the bed.
Patrick sighed. Fine. Maybe hewasbeing overly dramatic, butcomeon. This wasWill. Tall, dark, and handsome, and as easy-going as Ben. He oozed charm and made you want to curl up with him somewhere warm and never ever move. Well, that last part could just be Patrick.
Fuck.
He was going to make such an arse of himself. He flopped onto the bed and covered his face. “I hate you. You are the worst brother ever.”
Ben laughed as he tugged on Patrick’s hand until he was forced to sit up. “Don’t be such a drama queen, and come and help me get the rest of your things.” He slung an arm around Patrick’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze. “It’ll be fine. Will knows you’re coming. I told him this morning. He’s looking forward to seeing you again.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
IT DIDN’Ttake long for them to get the last of Patrick’s stuff in from his car and dump it into Ben’s bedroom. Patrick made them mugs of tea, and Ben grabbed a packet of chocolate digestives from a bag their mum had sent down.
“Why does Will need to stay with you, then?” Patrick asked, hissing a little when Cleo, Ben’s cat, dug her claws into his thigh. He carefully extracted them and ran his hand down her back, the black fur soft under his fingers. “I thought he was happily shacked up with what’s-his-name?”
It appeared to be Ben’s turn to roll his eyes this time. “Darren. You’ve met him loads of times.”
“Whatever. So why isn’tDarrenhere too, then?” A sudden thought occurred to him—the spare room had a double bed—but fuck no, Ben would never do that to him. “Please tell me he’s not going to be staying here as well?”
“Jesus, what do you take me for? Of course not.” Ben shook his head as he reached for his mug. “They split up, and the lease on the flat is up, so Will has bought a place round the corner. But it won’t be ready for another two weeks.”
“Wait, what?”
“Which bit didn’t you understand?” The smirk on Ben’s face told Patrick he knew exactly what Patrick was referring to. “Oh, didn’t I mention that Will and Darren were no longer together?”
Patrick shook his head, words eluding him as he began to view the next two weeks in a whole new light.
“Sorry.” Ben dipped a biscuit in his tea, not looking remotely sorry, as he settled back into his chair.
Before Patrick had a chance to reply, the sound of a key in Ben’s front door had them both turning toward the lounge entrance. The door wasn’t closed all the way, and they could hear Will rustling about in the small hallway, but couldn’t see him yet. Patrick felt his heart rate ramp up and his cheeks heat, which was absolutely ridiculous—he was twenty-two, not sixteen. His leg began to bounce a little, and Ben sat up to put his hand on Patrick’s knee to stop it, only removing it when Patrick slapped it away and glared at him.
“Hey.” Will smiled as he stepped into the lounge, eyes brightening a little as his gaze landed on Patrick. “You made it, then.”
Patrick managed to smile back and squeak out a “yes,” before quickly taking a drink of his tea to occupy his mouth. He clearly couldn’t be trusted to speak right now.
“It’s good to see you, again.” Will strolled into the kitchen and flicked on the kettle. The open-plan layout of the flat meant Patrick had a great view, and he took the opportunity to look his fill. Will ran a hand through his hair—shorter at the sides and back than Patrick remembered—shaking some water out of it. “Got caught in the bloody rain as I left.” He looked back over his shoulder. “Anyone need a top up?” he added, turning around to face them.
