Patrick shoved his phone back in his pocket and slumped against the wall while Christian locked the doors. What the fuck was he going to do with his evening now?
“Hey?” Christian nudged him in the side, frowning. “What’s up with you? You were all happy a minute ago. What’s happened?”
“Ugh. Will’s got to work late, then they’re all going out after.” Patrick glared when Christian grinned at him.
“Ahh, no fucking for you tonight, then. That sucks.”
“Yes, thanks for that.” Patrick fiddled with his keys, not so eager to go home now that he’d be there on his own.
“Look, why don’t you come home with me for a bit?” Christian gestured over the road as he spoke. “I’m having a couple of friends over. You’re off tomorrow, and I don’t start until ten, so we can get trashed and not worry.” He gave Patrick another nudge and winked at him. “I can always take your mind off Will if you like?”
Patrick wasn’t sure if he was serious or not. Christian hadn’t mentioned hooking up after their first meeting, and Patrick hadn’t thought about it other than acknowledging Christian was pretty hot.
Christian shrugged and smiled. “It’d just be sex, Pat. You seem to be okay with that, so why not?”
Patrick gave him a blatant once-over. Christian was slim but toned, much like Patrick, and he had a nice arse, but Patrick had enough on his plate with Will. As tempting as Christian was, he didn’t want anyone else.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll just come for that drink if that’s okay?”
Christian’s smile turned soft, and he bumped Patrick, jostling him slightly. “Yeah, ’course. Offer still stands, though, if you ever change your mind.” He winked again, making Patrick laugh, and they headed back to Christian’s with Patrick feeling better already.
THEY STAYEDup far later than Patrick had been expecting. Christian’s mate brought over some new Xbox game, and they took turns trying to kill each other. Patrick had stuck to having a couple of beers, not wanting a repeat performance of the last time he was with Christian.
The flat was silent when Patrick crept in, trying to be as quiet as possible this time, and of course, Will was fast asleep.
Patrick gave up on the idea of sneaking into Will’s room pretty quickly. Even he wasn’t stupid enough to think that was a good idea.
He slept late the next morning, making up for the late night, but it also meant he’d missed Will. God, they’d never get round to fucking at this rate.
Patrick rolled out of bed at ten thirty, according to his phone. He had three text messages. The first two were from Sean, wanting an update on things with Will, and the last was from Christian, cursing at him for not having to work.
He ignored the first two, not in the mood to answer his nosy fucker of a best friend, and fired off a reply to Christian, telling him he was about to have a cup of tea and a bacon sarnie, then collapse on the sofa for a while.
Patrick laughed at the “wanker” he got in reply, and wandered into the kitchen to turn on the grill. The yellow post-it on the fridge door caught his eye, and he plucked it off and brought it closer to read.
Patrick.
Got the afternoon off today. I’ll be back at the flat for 2pm if you fancy doing something.
Will.
Patrick read the note three times. Surely that meant sex? Patrick didn’t think he was misinterpreting it. By “doing something” Will was asking if he wanted to spend the afternoon in bed.Right?Well, that was the way Patrick chose to read it, and he couldn’t keep the huge grin off his face.
He checked his phone again. He had a little over three hours before Will would be back. Plenty of time for breakfast, a quick tidy round because he was a conscientious house guest, a run, and a shower. He’d need to keep himself occupied otherwise the hours would crawl by.
He had a text from Will waiting for him when he got out of the shower after his run, telling him Will had just left work. That meant Patrick had about ten minutes before Will arrived home. There didn’t seem much point getting dressed if Will was going to take it all off again. But there was always the slim chance that Patrick had got it all wrong, and how embarrassing would that be if Patrick met him at the door in a towel. Again.
He compromised by foregoing underwear and pulling on a loose pair of sweats and a T-shirt that was a little on the small side. The end result was a top that clung to his shoulders and stomach, and bottoms that hung dangerously low on his hips, revealing a thick strip of tanned skin and the dark hair of Patrick’s happy trail.
He checked himself out in Ben’s full-length mirror and grinned. Not bad, even if he did say so himself. Will wouldn’t know what hit him.
The front door slammed shut, and Patrick quickly ran his fingers through his hair, attempting to get it in some sort of style, and then hurried out to meet Will in the kitchen.
“Hey,” Patrick said, laughing as Will shook water out of his hair. He looked like a drowned rat. “Is it raining?”
The skies had looked a bit grey and overcast earlier, but Patrick hadn’t noticed the rain starting up.
Will raised both eyebrows and flicked water at him. “Just a little.” He was soaked through to the skin and starting to drip onto the kitchen floor. “It was sunny when I left for work, so I didn’t think to take an umbrella or anything.”
