“Oh.” Patrick felt wrong footed. He hadn’t forgotten Will would be moving out, but he had put it to the back of his mind. “I thought you were waiting until Ben and the rest of them got back? He told me they were helping you move in.”
Will set his mug down and reached for the keys, staring down at them for a second before slipping them into his pocket. “Yeah, they are. I’ve got too much stuff to move on my own, but I was thinking about spending Monday night there. My dad offered to help me with my bed and a few essentials.”
“Oh,” Patrick said again, not sure how to respond. It fucking sucked if he was honest, but he plastered a smile on his face anyway. “That’s great. I bet you can’t wait to get in your own place again.”
“It’ll be good to get all my stuff out of storage, that’s for sure.”
The silence that fell now was definitely uncomfortable, and Patrick looked down at the floor, racking his brain for something to say.
“Hey, Patrick.” Will put his hand under Patrick’s chin and gently lifted his head up. “I’m not leaving until tomorrow. I thought we could go out for breakfast in a bit. But, do you wanna fool around first?” He waggled his eyebrows and grinned, looking so ridiculous that Patrick burst out laughing.
“Oh my God, not if you make that face.” Patrick made a show of dodging Will’s attempts to kiss him.
“Come on, you know you want this.” Will gestured down the length of his body with a flourish.
Patrick couldn’t stop grinning, the dark mood from earlier all but forgotten. “Stop, please.” He let Will pull him closer this time and wrapped his arms loosely around Will’s waist.
“Stop?” Will dipped his head and kissed the base of Patrick’s throat, then began to work his way up. “Are you sure?”
“Hmm….” Patrick closed his eyes, enjoying the attention. “You can keep doing that.”
Will guided him back until Patrick’s bum hit the counter and then slipped his thigh between Patrick’s legs. “What about this?”
“Yeah, definitely—”
Patrick’s phone vibrated on the worktop, and he groaned when he saw his brother’s name flash up. “It’s Ben.”
“Ugh.” Will dropped his head onto Patrick’s shoulder. “He has the worst timing.”
Patrick shrugged and slid his hands down lower, cupping Will’s arse. “I could ignore him.” He tugged Will closer and kissed him, trying to block out the incessant buzzing next to them. No sooner had it stopped than it started up again. “For fuck’s sake.” Patrick pulled back and reached for his phone. “Sorry, I better answer it.”
“Yeah, ’course.” Will stepped away to give him some space, but Patrick kept one hand on Will’s hip, not allowing him to go too far.
“Hey,” Patrick answered the call, smiling when he heard Ben’s voice.
“Why didn’t you answer the first time?”
“I was busy.”
“Doing what? It’s before ten on a Sunday morning. What would you possibly be doing at this time?” Ben paused, obviously putting two and two together. “Ugh, please tell me I didn’t interrupt you and Will.”
Patrick grinned, not bothering to try and sound sincere. “You didn’t interrupt me and W—”
“God, shut up. I don’t want to know,” Ben cut in, and Patrick grinned even harder. “Anyway, I’m just checking you’re still okay to pick me up Tuesday morning?”
Patrick glanced at the calendar hanging next to the fridge. Ben had written the flight time down and circled it three times. “Yep, you land at four fifty-five in the morning, right?”
“Yeah, so probably be through baggage claim about five thirty.”
“No problem. See you Tuesday.”
A few loud shouts in the background captured Ben’s attention, and he said a distracted good-bye before hanging up. Patrick put his phone back down and rubbed the back of his neck before meeting Will’s gaze. The moment had sort of been ruined, and Patrick was torn between trying to get it back and giving it up as a lost cause. “Um….”
Will took the decision out of his hands. “Why don’t we go out for breakfast now instead? We’ve got all afternoon to revisit this.”
“Yeah, that sounds great.”
THEY ATEa late breakfast at the café opposite the supermarket. Both of them ordered the Full English, laughing at the size of the plates when they came out and laying bets on who would leave the most. Patrick forgot for a minute that it wasn’t a date, because it sure as fuck felt like one.
