PATRICK SLEPTlate enough on Sunday that by the time he stumbled out of his bedroom, Will was already up and dressed. He looked quite smart too—leaning against the kitchen counter wearing a dark green shirt and black jeans.
“Going somewhere?” Patrick suddenly felt vastly underdressed in his boxer briefs and an old T-shirt. He moved next to Will and flicked the kettle on before reaching for a mug out of the cupboard. “Want one?”
Will shook his head. “No thanks, and I’m going to my mum and dad’s for Sunday lunch.” He looked kind of awkward for a minute, and Patrick watched him out of the corner of his eye as he poured up his tea. “You can… um… you’re welcome to come if you want?”
Patrick almost overfilled his mug.
He quickly put the kettle down, not trusting himself with boiling water at that particular moment. Will still looked unsure, and Patrick couldn’t tell whether he genuinely wanted Patrick to come or whether he felt obliged to ask him out of courtesy. Either way, Patrick was in no way prepared to meet Will’s parents.
“Thanks, but I was planning on staying in and watching the Grand Prix. It’s on in—” He checked his watch. “—about an hour.”
Will seemed relieved at his answer, which irked Patrick a little, but he refused to dwell on it. They’d been getting on pretty great this weekend, and one awkward conversation wasn’t going to alter that.
“Thanks for the offer, though.”
Will nodded and stood up away from the counter. “Okay, well, I need to get going. Have fun.”
Patrick listened to him leave, wondering what that had all been about. His stomach reminded him it needed food, though, and he quickly got caught up making a huge breakfast, then took it into the lounge ready for a lazy afternoon of TV.
His phoned pinged with a text a few hours later—a message from Will letting him know that he was staying at his parents for the night and that he’d see him tomorrow night.
Patrick sighed in disappointment. He’d been looking forward to another night with Will. They only had one week left before Ben came home, and Patrick badly wanted to get Will back in bed again a few times before then. Humping on the sofa was all well and good, but nakedness would be even better.
He turned in early, bored without anyone to talk to, and resolved to make the most of the coming week.
