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“You wanna walk all the way back, or should we get a cab from here? It’s going to take us about twenty-five minutes if we walk. Is your ankle up to it?” He tapped on his phone screen. “I can get an Uber, or we can keep walking and flag down a black cab if we see one.”
“Yeah, keep walking and flag one down,” I said. “My ankle’s fine. No pain at all.”
“You’re overthinking it.” Leaning into the road, he waved his arm. “There’s a cab. Come on, let’s get it.”
“Overthinking what?” I climbed into the taxi behind him and closed the door.
“The Mansions, please, mate. By LSU,” he instructed the cabbie, then turned back to me. “Overthinking the kissing thing. Just because you haven’t found anyone you’re into yet, doesn’t mean you won’t. Let the opportunities come to you. I don’t need to remind you that you don’t exactly have to work for it. How many girls have you pulled this semester already? Be your usual self, and people will come to you.” He shot me a grin.
“You’re right.” Relaxing back against the seat, I blew out a heavy breath. “Fuck, mate, it feels like you being with Noah has made you so much wiser. How did that happen?”
A smirk appeared on his face. “Maybe it’s all the dick sucking. Supposedly, semen boosts the brain.”
“Semen boosts the brain?” I raised my brows, unsure if he was joking or not. An image flashed in my mind…me, on my knees in front of a pair of legs, a hand in my hair… I coughed, shifting in my seat.
“It’s got protein in it, so maybe.” He shrugged, his eyes alight with amusement. “It’s a good enough excuse as far as I’m concerned.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to know what you get up to with Noah. I’ve already told you that.” I shook my head at him.
“I’m not going to give you any details, but if you ever need any dick-sucking tips—”
“I don’t.”
“You might.” Still smirking, he glanced out of the window. “Oh. We’re here.”
I leaned forwards in my seat, addressing the cabbie. “Anywhere here’s good, mate. Cheers.”
When we’d exited the cab and were standing on the pavement between our respective houses, Liam turned serious again. “Don’t push it with Elliot. Give him some space, yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
14
This weekend had come just at the right time. After everything that had happened, I needed a break from my life, badly. Ander was with me, which was less than ideal, given the circumstances, but at least we had a buffer of family and friends. We were back at home in Bournemouth for the weekend, celebrating my cousin Dee’s twenty-first birthday. Ander had an insane crush on her for about a year when we were fifteen, which she’d found hilarious. He’d managed to get over it, eventually, helped by the fact that she’d announced to everyone that she was a lesbian about six or seven months into his crush, and he finally realised that meant he’d never have any chance with her. Now they were friends who liked to tease each other mercilessly.
Dee had hired out the upstairs part of Cloud, my favourite bar, and it was packed with her friends and various relatives. I was standing at the bar with Ander, waiting to be served, when she came running over.
“Cocktails! Have a screaming orgasm, they’re fucking delicious!” she shouted drunkenly, waving the bar menu in my face. My cousin was tiny, with hair in a pixie cut that seemed to change colour every time I saw her. This time, it was a pastel pink.
“I’d love a screaming orgasm with you.” Ander smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes, smacking his arm with the menu.
“Still a lesbian.”
“I can verify that.” Another girl sidled up next to her, slipping her arm around her waist. She was also petite and ethereal-looking, with long blonde hair and huge eyes framed with long lashes. “Hi. I’m Faye, Dee’s girlfriend.”
“Faaaaye. Babe. This is my cousin Elliot and his best friend, Ander, who used to be obsessed with me and still harbours a delusion that I’ll turn straight for him.” Dee grinned at us both.
Ander laughed, blowing her a kiss. “I know it doesn’t work like that, Dee-Dee, but I know you’d miss my flirting if I stopped now.”
“Is he always like this?” Faye asked in a stage whisper as Dee returned Ander’s gesture with her middle finger.
“Always,” I confirmed. “The diagnosis is that it’s a permanent condition.”
“Poor thing.” She pulled a sad face.
“Elliot! I haven’t seen you for so long!” My aunt Sadie was suddenly in front of us, yanking me into a hug so tight I could barely breathe. When she released me, I gasped for air, then laughed as she proceeded to do the same to Ander, making his eyes widen dramatically.
“Okay, Mum. Time to lay off the Aperol spritz.” Dee placed a hand on my aunt’s arm. “Look, Jean’s waving to you.”
