CHAPTER EIGHT
PATRICK WOKEup in time to have breakfast with Will the next morning, which was definitely better than waking up to him leaving. They sat together eating cereal and chatting about the start of the football season next month before Will grabbed his keys and his wallet, squeezed Patrick’s shoulder, and left for work.
Patrick didn’t have work until twelve, so he watched a bit of TV before going for a run, trying to get rid of some of his excess energy. The thought of what he and Will would be doing later kept popping into his mind, and Patrick would be lucky to get through the day without embarrassing himself.
Christian looked from Patrick to the clock and back again when he arrived at work. “Get bored or something?” He grinned as Patrick joined him behind the counter. “You’re half an hour early.”
They had a queue about five deep already, and it would only get worse as lunchtime rolled around. Patrick bumped him with his hip, shoving him out of the way of the till. “I can always go if you don’t want my help.” He took a couple of orders before turning to look at Christian over his shoulder. “Where’s Max, anyway?”
Max almost always worked the early shift, and he wasn’t due to leave until Patrick’s shift officially started at twelve.
“He’s gone to get more milk. Although I think he must be getting it straight from the bloody cow, he’s been gone that long.”
Max arrived shortly after, stashed the milk in the fridge and then left with a tired wave. The queue died down shortly after, and Patrick and Christian immediately took advantage of the unexpected lull.
“So.” Christian leaned back against the sink and gave Patrick a thorough once-over. “You don’t look like someone who had a torrid night of illicit sex with his fuck-buddy.” He said it quietly enough, but Patrick still sputtered and glanced around to see if anyone had overheard. “Calm down, no one cares what we talk about. They’re too busy gossiping themselves.” He gestured vaguely at the half-dozen tables that appeared to be filled with mainly groups of women, all intent on their own conversations.
Patrick relaxed but still pulled a face.
“So what happened?” Christian asked, unperturbed. “I thought you had big plans to get in Will’s pants.” He waggled his eyebrows and made some rude gesture below the counter where the customers wouldn’t see.
Patrick kicked him in the shin to get him to stop. “I did, and we started off great.” He explained briefly about the sex in the kitchen, refusing to elaborate when Christian asked for all the gory details. “But then we had dinner and fell asleep on the sofa.”
Christian laughed. “For fuck’s sake, Patrick. How old is this guy?”
“You’ve met him.”
“Yeah, well, I was pretty drunk. I can’t remember.”
“He’s twenty-eight.” Patrick had mentioned Will was his brother’s mate, but hadn’t said much more. “It’s notthatold,” he added, a little defensively. “He’d had a shit day at work, and we were both tired.”
Patrick started to tell him about how Will was really fit and that they got on great, trying to convince Christian that six years wasn’t a big deal at all. Maybe he was trying too hard, though, because Christian’s smile faltered a little, and Patrick didn’t like the look that replaced it. “What?”
Christian sighed and rubbed a hand at the back of his neck before answering. “Are you sure this is just a casual thing, Pat?” He held his hands up in front of him when Patrick huffed in annoyance. “You seem to like him a lot, that’s all.”
“Of course I like Will.” Patrick looked up at the ceiling in an effort to calm down and not snap. “But this is just sex. He’s hot, we’re both horny, and neither of us wants a relationship. Ergo, sex. It’s simple.”
Patrick glanced back at Christian, relieved to see his smile firmly back in place.
“Ergo?” he said, laughing. “Who the fuck says that?”
“Piss off, you know what I mean. Me and Will are fine. There are no feelings involved. No one will get hurt.”
Christian shook his head and headed back to the cash register as a few people came through the door. “If you say so.”
They were busy for the next hour and a half, and after that Christian didn’t bring it up again, for which Patrick was extremely grateful. He’d had enough of explaining himself all bloody weekend. He didn’t need it at work too. He’d meant what he’d said, anyway. He and Will were fine, and they would continue to be fine after they’d had their two weeks of fun.
By the time his shift finished, Patrick had forgotten all about his talk with Christian and was looking forward to the night ahead. His phone chimed as they were closing up, and he smiled when he saw it was a text from Will.
Got to work late again. Boss taking us all out for food and drinks after. Sorry :(
Patrick read the message twice, feeling his good mood evaporate and thinking that being cockblocked by Will’s boss deserved more than a sad-face emoticon.
Well, fuck!
Yeah I know. Have to go, it’s a team thing. Really sorry though.
Never mind. Have a good night.
