“Mm-hmm.” Will herded him toward Ben’s room, only bumping him into the doorframe once. “Pretty sure it’ll be the shitload of alcohol you’ve had.” He gently turned Patrick around and pushed him down onto the bed, then tried to wrestle his clothes off him.
“Hey.” Patrick collapsed onto his back, and lifted his hips when Will tugged on his jeans. “I’m really sorry.” He bit his lip, squinting his eyes as though it was a struggle to focus on Will’s face, and he seemed painfully young lying there trying to apologize. “Was stupid to go out without a key.”
Will sighed. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Missed you today.” His voice was quieter, and when Will looked up, Patrick’s eyes fluttered closed. “Wanted… ask you to the pub, but… stupid phone… no charge.”
Patrick moaned, turning to burrow into the pillow, and Will grinned despite himself. He may have been pissed off to be woken up, but he couldn’t manage to stay mad when faced with the sight of Patrick—curled up on his side, snoring softly and clutching the quilt up to his chin.
“Night, Patrick.” Will hesitated by the side of the bed, feeling the urge to smooth Patrick’s hair back or kiss his forehead. He settled for straightening the bottom of the quilt, pulling it down until it covered Patrick’s feet, and with one last look back at Patrick, he returned to his own room to try and get back to sleep.
WILL WOKElate Saturday morning, the sounds of someone banging around in the kitchen, rousing him from sleep. He yawned and reached over to grab his phone from the bedside table to check the time—ten thirty. Wow, he’d not slept that late in ages. Cleo eyed him with obvious distaste from her usual spot on the end of the bed, clearly blaming him for disturbing her. Will ignored her and flopped back down onto the pillow. He felt far too relaxed to deal with her attitude this morning.
The banging in the kitchen continued, and Will frowned. Patrick must have the mother of all hangovers; surely he wouldn’t be up yet? He shoved off the covers and stretched, shaking off the last residues of sleep before getting out of bed and going to see what all the racket was about.
“Morning,” Will said, far too loudly, and grinned as Patrick jumped and cursed, almost dropping the milk in his hands.
He turned to face Will, squinting slightly. “Christ, don’t do that.” He set the milk down next to the kettle and gingerly rubbed at his forehead. “I’m still a little delicate.”
“I’m not surprised.” Will padded farther into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, inhaling deeply as the smell of bacon cooking wafted out from the oven. “I thought you’d still be in bed, and…. Are you cooking breakfast?”
Patrick flushed and fidgeted with the tea towel next to him, twisting the end between his fingers. “Yeah, thought it was the least I could do after last night.” The sound of the kettle boiling caught Patrick’s attention, and he reached up to pluck two mugs out of the cupboard. “I’m sorry about forgetting my keys and having to get you up. I’d honestly only meant to stay in the pub until you got back from work, but then one pint led to another, and Christian’s mates turned up, and, well… the night kind of got away from me.”
“I know, you told me most of that last night.”
“Oh, did I?” Patrick frowned as he finished off the teas, and nudged one in Will’s direction. “A lot of it’s a little blurry.” He took a sip from his mug, hissing when it burned his tongue. “Did I… um… do anything else embarrassing?”
Will blew on his tea, taking the time to come up with his reply. He thought about what Patrick had said—that he’d missed Will—and the way he’d looked so open and vulnerable and hot at the same time. Will had wanted to take care of him. “Nah,” he said eventually. “You were a little handsy, that’s all.”
“Oh God, sorry. I bet the last thing you wanted was me drunkenly pawing at you.” Patrick quickly turned to pop some bread in the toaster, and Will struggled for something to say to ease the sudden tension in the room.
“I’m starving. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Could you scramble some eggs?” Patrick glanced back over his shoulder and grimaced. “I’m not sure I can face cooking them just yet.”
“Sure.”
Between them they put together a full English breakfast, with Patrick insisting on doing everything but the eggs and buttering the toast. He apologized at least two more times until Will had to threaten him with the spatula if he did it again.
Will appreciated it all, though. Patrick obviously still felt like shit—he looked like it anyway—and the fact that he’d got up far earlier than he wanted to make Will an apology breakfast meant a lot.
PATRICK SANKback into the sofa and groaned. At least he didn’t feel sick anymore, but his headache was still there, throbbing away. Two bloody nights he’d missed with Will because he’d been to the pub and got drunk. Not tonight, though.
He opened one eye and squinted over at where Will lay sprawled out next to him. Definitely no alcohol tonight. Patrick had plans. The first being to get rid of his hangover.
“I need some fresh air to wake myself up,” he said, then yawned as though to prove his point. “Fancy joining me? I don’t know where to go around here, so maybe you could show me around?” He poked Will in the ribs when he didn’t reply straight away. “Or do you have something on?” They hadn’t done anything together outside of the flat, but Patrick was in the mood for company, and walking on your own sucked as far as he was concerned.
“I was going to go and have a look at sofas, I need a new one for when I move in.”
“Oh, okay.” Patrick’s stomach sank a little, but he tried not to let his disappointment show. “Can you point me in the right direction before you go, then?”
Will sat forward, rubbing his hands on his thighs before turning to face Patrick. “No, I’ve got a better idea.” He smiled, his eyes meeting Patrick’s, and Patrick’s heart clenched. “We’ll go for a walk first, and then you can come sofa shopping with me.” He nudged Patrick with his knee. “What do you think?”
Patrick swallowed down his excitement, not wanting to look too keen. “Yeah, okay. If I must.”
Will rolled his eyes and stood up, holding his hand out for Patrick. “Like you have anything better to do today.”
He pulled Patrick to his feet, and for one long moment Patrick thought Will was going to lean in and kiss him, but he smiled, then let go of Patrick’s hand.
