He blew out a breath, and Oliver had to bite his lip to stop himself from turning over. He sensed Ed wasn’t done.
“His words stuck, hit a nerve I didn’t realise was so raw until he spat them at me. I’m not sure if he meant all of it or not, but part of me realised there might be some truth to it. I did come straight back after I graduated, and I’ve never moved away since. Maybe I do rely on them too much?”
Oliver felt the bed dip as Ed rolled onto his back. He imagined him staring up at the ceiling, one hand covering his eyes.
“Part of me started wondering if the rest of what he said was true. Could I move away and start fresh on my own?” Another sigh. “I’ll never know if I don’t try. So I made a couple of calls, and a few months later, here we are.”
Oliver didn’t know where to start addressing that lot, but he couldn’t lie there silent any longer. Rolling over to face Ed, he reached up to cup his jaw, coaxing him to turn his head. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be near your family, Ed.” He stroked his thumb over Ed’s cheek, tracing the bone. “Relying on them, letting them help you when things get tough isn’t a weakness. It’s not something you need to grow out of.”
Ed didn’t say anything in return, but he slipped an arm around Oliver and held him close.
Oliver relaxed into it and closed his eyes again.
He couldn’t force Ed to believe him, to believe it was okay to let friends and family help him if he needed them. He had to come to that realisation on his own. If it took him moving up the country to do it, then there was nothing Oliver could do about that.
But what he could do was enjoy the time they had before Ed left.
And that’s what he intended to do.
OLIVER WOKE TO unfamiliar curtains, a solid, warm body at his back, and an arm draped casually over his waist. Smiling to himself, he kept perfectly still, wanting to enjoy the moment for as long as he could.
Last night had been... unexpected.
And awesome—one conversation aside—but not how he’d envisaged the night going. He’d thought he’d have his work cut out getting Ed to agree to take their relationship further despite their initial misgivings. But how wrong he’d been.
“I know you’re awake.” Ed’s throaty chuckle made him smile. Oliver stretched, about to turn over and kiss him good morning, but Ed’s “We should talk” stopped him in his tracks.
With a groan, Oliver rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, not wanting to look at Ed while they did this. “You first.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“You first.”
With his arm still slung over Oliver’s waist, Ed felt him flinch.
He’d intended on waking him up with lazy kisses, but his mind wouldn’t stop cycling through all the questions he had, and the words had slipped out. Judging by Oliver’s reaction and the way he stared at the ceiling, waiting for Ed to start talking, he’d ruined any chance of staying in bed all morning.
But last night changed things between them, and they needed to talk about it.
Their last conversation stuck in his mind, but that wasn’t a subject he wanted to rehash. The rest of it though, that needed some discussion.
After the way his last relationship had fallen apart, Ed was a firm believer in talking first before assumptions were made. Even as new as things were between them, misunderstandings could still happen, and Ed wanted to avoid that at all costs if possible.
Oliver hadn’t pushed his arm off yet, and Ed tentatively stroked along the ridge of his hip bone, wanting the contact as he spoke. “Last night was...” He searched for the right word.
“A mistake?” The bitter edge to Oliver’s whisper had Ed gripping his hip and encouraging him to roll over and face him.
This was why they needed to talk.
“No. Not a mistake.” He offered up a small smile, gently sliding his hand up over Oliver’s chest until he could cup his jaw. He met his gaze and held it. “I was going to go with amazing.”
“Oh.” Oliver blew out a breath and covered his face with an arm, but Ed saw the corners of his mouth curve up. “I felt for sure you were going to say it was a mistake and we shouldn’t do it again.”
Fuck.
“Well...”
Oliver shifted his arm, eyes narrowing as he looked at Ed. “Seriously?”
