Then had to remind himself it was just dinner. With afriend.
Yeah, that didn’t do much to stop the way anticipation thrummed through him, setting his nerves alight. When Ed had cancelled their plans and told him to stay with Betty, he’d been disappointed. Sorely disappointed. The morning had been good despite a few awkward silences. Oliver enjoyed his company, wanted more of it.
Getting to know Ed was like a game of pass the parcel: each layer removed revealed a little prize.
Seeing his eyes linger over the Christmas trees yet stubbornly refusing to admit he wanted one. Then lighting up when Sarah got him one anyway. Their relationship was something that warmed his heart to see. From the way Ed talked about family, he’d guessed they were a close-knit bunch, but watching Ed and Sarah confirmed it.
Oliver wondered, not for the first time, why Ed was so insistent on wanting to move his whole life more than a hundred miles up the motorway.
Maybe it was like the Christmas tree but on a much bigger scale.
Maybe he needed a gentle reminder that he was allowed to change his mind.
While Betty fussed about moving ornaments to make way for Christmas decorations, Oliver went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. Waiting for it to boil, he shoved his hands in his pockets, fingers brushing a piece of paper that suddenly reminded him of what else had happened at the tree farm.
Screwing up the receipt for the tree, he threw it in the bin but smoothed out the second bit of paper that held a name and phone number. The guy manning the tills—Alex—had been cute, funny too, and maybe a couple of weeks ago, Oliver might have given him a call. He’d told Ed a white lie. He didn’t really have a type as such, but Alex wasn’t his type right then because, try as he might to keep things platonic between him and Ed, all he could think about was spending more time together.
Doing anything.
Painting, shopping for trees, Oliver didn’t care.
As he stood making tea in Betty’s kitchen, he was hit by the realisation that it wouldn’t matter if he and Ed had sex or not. Every time they were together, their relationship progressed, and he got a little more invested. Ed leaving was going to hurt no matter what.
Why not enjoy their time together to the full?
You only live once, right?
Mind made up, Oliver felt the subtle shift inside as he let go of all the reasons they shouldn’t do this and embraced all the reasons that they should.
He was lost in thought, mulling over the most convincing argument to put to Ed, when someone knocked on the back door. “I’ll get it,” he called out, receiving a “Thank you, dear” from Betty.
Only people they knew used the back door, but it still came as somewhat of a surprise to find Ed there, considering he’d not long said goodbye to him. That was until Oliver glanced down and saw what he was holding. “You fixed it.”
“Yeah.” Ed smiled and held out Oliver’s laptop to him. “I should’ve given it to you when you came round earlier, but I totally forgot.”
Oliver took it from him, waiting until Ed met his gaze to say, “And here I thought it was only my ripped jeans that distracted you.” Drawing his bottom lip between his teeth, Oliver then let it go, slowly running his tongue over the tender spot.
Heat curled in his belly as Ed tracked the movement, eyes glued to Oliver’s mouth. It gave him the confidence to reach out and take the laptop from him, one hand lingering on top of Ed’s, his thumb stroking over the soft skin there.
Ed sucked in a breath, and for one perfect moment, nothing existed apart from the two of them, connected only by Oliver’s hand on Ed’s.
It felt like so much more.
“I’ll see you tonight, then,” Oliver said, breaking the tension between them before he was tempted to let go of his laptop and pull Ed into a kiss. Betty wouldn’t thank him for breaking it all over again, and he wasn’t sure he and Ed were on the same page.
Yet.
The attraction was there; Oliver wasn’t worried about that. But he needed Ed to want this regardless of the expiration date hanging over their heads. Needed him to realise that whatever happened between them from this point onwards, Ed’s leaving would affect them both, so why deny themselves something that they both obviously wanted.
Oliver took a step back, laptop clutched to his chest, the only thing stopping him from grabbing Ed when he replied with a breathy, “Yeah, okay.”
ROB ARRIVED AS Oliver was getting ready to head round to Ed’s.
Not that Betty needed a babysitter, but Oliver had taken to watchingStrictlywith her on a Saturday night and he didn’t want to leave her to watch on her own when it was nearing the finale.
“Look at you,” Rob crooned, letting out a low whistle. Oliver rolled his eyes. “Someone to impress?”
Before Oliver could deny that, Betty helpfully piped up with, “He’s seeing Ed again. They’ve become quite the couple.”
