CHAPTER THREE
IN RETROSPECTPatrick realized he should have knocked first. But even with the look on Will’s face and the way he’d rushed off, the last thing Patrick expected was to walk in on Will with his cock in his hand. Fuck, even saying it made him feel a little hot.
“Oh my God!” Hysterical laughter bubbled up in his chest as he remembered the look on Will’s face, and he felt torn between being turned on—becausecome on, he just caught Will rubbing one out—and finding the whole thing hilarious. He settled for palming his dick through his jeans as he laughed all the way back out to the lounge. If Patrick hadn’t jerked off in the shower, then he’d more than likely be following Will’s example and getting himself off in Ben’s room.
As it was, he sat down and rested his head back against the sofa cushions, one hand settling on his dick but not with any intent to take it further. Thank God he’d got dressed before bursting in on Will. Going in there clad only in a towel would have only added to the awkwardness. If that was even possible.
It took a good hour before Will joined him in the lounge. Patrick had heard Will leave his room for the shower, and he’d been tempted to go out somewhere and face this later. But they needed to clear the air, or the next two weeks would be uncomfortable, and Patrick didn’t want that. Besides, he was more than a little curious to see what Will would have to say. Judging by the look on his face as he took the chair next to Patrick, he definitely wanted to talk.
Patrick initially thought he stood no chance with Will whatsoever, and he’d been kind of okay with lusting over him from afar, but after everything that just happened, he wasn’t sure that was exactly true anymore.
“Hey.” Patrick smiled encouragingly, trying not to think of Will’s cock or the mess he’d made all over his stomach—which was far more toned than Patrick had been prepared for. He couldn’t help but glance down at Will’s lap and felt himself flush when Will snorted.
“Look, Patrick,” he began, sitting forward and resting his forearms on his knees. “I’m not going to pretend I didn’t go in my room and jack off while thinking of you naked, because we’d both know I’d be lying.” He looked directly at Patrick, not seeming the least bit embarrassed now.
Okaaay, then, Will was going with the blunt approach. He reminded Patrick of Ben in that moment, easily talking about what had happened as if it was an everyday occurrence. Will had been caught wanking, so surely he should be the one blushing, but he sat there, waiting for Patrick to say something.
Patrick felt every one of the years separating them as he swallowed hard and tried to act more mature than he felt, when everything in him wanted to laugh and maybe hide his face.
“Okay,” he managed, trying to gather his thoughts. He didn’t know where Will planned to go with this, but he figured he might as well let him lead, since he clearly wanted to. “What do you suggest? We forget it ever happened and never speak of it again?”
Will grinned at that, meeting Patrick’s gaze, and it made Patrick squirm under the scrutiny. “No, I don’t think that’s likely to happen, do you?”
“No,” Patrick admitted, finally relaxing enough to smile back. Maybe he could behave like an adult after all. “But what, then?”
Will sighed. “I know how you feel about me, Patrick.”
Patrick felt the smile freeze on his face, the urge to bury his head in his hands back with a vengeance. Maybe he’d spoken too soon.
“And I’ll admit,” Will carried on, either not noticing Patrick’s discomfort or choosing to ignore it. “I’ve never really paid much attention to it before. Don’t get me wrong; it’s flattering,” he added at Patrick’s indignant huff. “I’m not trying to be an arse about it. But you’re Ben’skid brother.” He cast an appreciative glance over Patrick, his gaze lingering over Patrick’s shoulders and then his crotch, a rueful smile on his face. “Except you’re not a kid anymore, are you?”
Patrick knew he shouldn’t, because he could clearly hear the rejection coming a mile off, but his chest puffed up a little at Will’s acknowledgment. “No,” he said, “I’m not.”
He waited for the “but” to come—Will may be looking at him differently now, but it still didn’t mean he’d changed his mind. And if Patrick was honest, he didn’t actually know what he wanted Will to say anyway. On the one hand, Will was hot as fuck, and Patrick had fancied him for ages. But according to Ben, he’d just split up with his long-term boyfriend, and there was absolutely no way Patrick was going to be the rebound guy. He’d been there, done that, and it had ended about as badly as you’d expect. So no thanks.
He might be up for a little “no strings” sex, though.
“But,” Will said, interrupting Patrick’s thoughts. Here it comes, then. “The fact is, you are still Ben’s brother. And besides that, you’ve got another year at a university almost two hours from here. I’m not looking for another relationship, especially a long-distance one.”
Will looked up, an expectant expression on his face, obviously waiting for Patrick to say something.
Patrick sighed and sat up a little, mirroring Will. “I’m not looking for that either,” he said, smiling. “No offense, but I don’t want to get involved with someone just out of a long-term relationship, no matter how hot he is. But a casual fling, on the other hand….” He let the offer hang there, sounding far more nonchalant than he felt. But they’d seen each other’s cocks now, surely this was the time to be blunt.
Patrick was now the one waiting for an answer, and the silence stretched between them for so long that he began to second-guess himself. Maybe he shouldn’t have put it out there like that. God, what if he’d somehow made everything ten times more awkward. What—
“I split up with Darren almost five months ago.”
Patrick blinked at him, confused. “Oh. Ben said you needed to move out because of the split, so I assumed….” Patrick tried not to let this new piece of information get his hopes up. Will might not be on the rebound, but it didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t interested in a relationship with Patrick.
“Well, that’s sort of true. The lease was up on our flat, and I didn’t want to stay there anymore. But Darren moved out just after Christmas.”
Patrick knew he should probably retract his earlier offer—casual sex while he thought Will was still hung up on his ex was one thing. Patrick would have kept himself from getting attached, having been burned once.
Probably.
But that wasn’t the case anymore. He opened his mouth to say the whole “no strings attached” thing was a bad idea, but Will spoke before he had chance.
“I don’t normally do the ‘friends with benefits’ sort of thing,” Will said, looking down at his hands, and okay, maybe that was for the best. “But….” He paused, giving Patrick a lazy once-over, and Patrick’s stomach fluttered under the scrutiny.
