His soft laughter filled the room. “I take it that’s something you’d like?” he asked, and all I could managed was a “Mm-hmm,” still riding the waves of pleasure hitting my body.
“Jesus,” I muttered, finally getting a hold of myself enough to meet his gaze. “Never knew you had such a dirty mouth.”
He smirked. “You have no idea.”
Oh god, did I want to find out.
Then his stomach rumbled loudly, startling us both into laughter, and I remembered it was bloody Christmas Eve and I’d wanted to make it special. I glanced between us at the mess on his belly, then up at his smiling face, eyes alight with both amusement and happiness and I realised it already was.
Standing, I grabbed my discarded T-shirt and cleaned us both up before reaching for his hand. “Let’s get some clothes on and sort out some food.” He let me pull him up from the sofa and I kissed him as soon as he was upright. “I bought a festive feast.”
A plaintive meow sounded behind me and we both turned to see Angus stroll into the lounge from the hallway.
“I was wondering where you’d got to,” I said as he curled around my legs, meowing up at me. I’d half expected him to interrupt us at some point.
Jasper ran a hand through his hair, looking sheepish. “I may have given him a whole can of tuna earlier, think it put him in a food coma.”
I shrugged and reached down to stroke Angus as he continued to fuss round me. “Well, it is Christmas.” But it looked like whatever magic the tuna had weaved had worn off, judging by the cries still coming out of him.
I helped Jasper back into his joggers and nipped upstairs for my pyjama bottoms. Then the three of us wandered into the kitchen in search of food.
Full and sleepy,we laid on the sofa, with Angus a dead weight at our side.
“Are we doing the right thing?” Whether it was the fact that it was Christmas Eve and I was feeling more emotional than usual, I wasn’t sure, but curled up together like we were, asking Jasper to move out seemed like the worst idea I’d ever had.
“Yeah, we are,” he said softly, reaching for my hand and twining our fingers. “I love being with you like this, Finn. But we need time and the space to get to know each other properly.” He pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “So that when we live together again, it’s because we’re ready and we want to. Not because circumstances dictated it.”
I smiled at the way he saidwhenand notif. The thought of Jasper moving in to live with me, and not as my lodger, was a little scary still, I had to admit, which is why I knew he was right.
But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t send a thrill through me too.
I stroked Angus, making him stretch out and purr, and thought of the three of us living here together.
Yeah.
I had every faith we’d get there.
My phone beeped with a text message, and I glanced down to see it had just gone midnight.
“Hey.” I nudged him gently and showed him my phone. “Look.”
Jasper tilted his head back and smiled up at me, a hint of something in his eyes that I couldn’t wait to see more of. “Merry Christmas.”
I kissed him softly on the lips, lingering for a moment as I imagined getting to do this all the time at some point in our future.
But for now, this was enough.
“Merry Christmas.”
Epilogue
Five months later...
Finn
“Christ, you jammy fucker.”I looked around what used to be my mum and dad’s double garage and shook my head.
Cole grinned. “I know, right?” He was so excited, he almost bounced on the spot.
