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“I intend to.”
“Excellent.” Martin raised his cup and clinked it against Eric’s.
They rejoined the others out on the pier, falling into a conversation about why cheese was better than chocolate according to Kojo and Matteo, while Adrian championed chocolate. Eric didn’t have strong feelings either way, but when Martin joined forces with Kojoand Matteo and declared cheese a divine blessing from the gods, it seemed only fair that Eric spoke up.
“Cheese is great, don’t get me wrong.” He spread his hands. “But no one ever mistook chocolate for a mouse trap, now did they? Also, chocolate contains serotonin-boosting chemicals—beat that, gouda.”
“Chocolate,” Adrian chimed in, “doesn’t ask silly questions. Chocolate understands.”
They grinned at each other, Adrian’s face awash in a rosy hue from the fading daylight. After a beat, Eric looked away to take a sip from his cup. And if his cheeks felt warm?
Well, that was just the wine.
Adrian managedto catch his parents before dinner, while Eric was helping Kojo in the upstairs kitchen, and Martin and Matteo were outside getting firewood. Or snogging in the barn, more like—Adrian wasn’t judging.
“Okay, so.” He busied himself with unloading one of the grocery boxes that had been delivered earlier, eggs and dairy, jam. The harsh ceiling light in the breakfast kitchen made all colours seem flat. “I’m going to tell you something, and I need you to please keep it in perspective.”
“Honey.” Mum closed the fridge door and gave him her full attention. “Are you pregnant?”
Dad stifled a snort, laugh lines blooming around his eyes, and Adrian sighed.
“It’s so nice to have parents who take me seriously.”
“Leben ist kein Ponyhof.” Dad sounded perfectly unsympathetic, and it was another one of those expressions Adrian had accidentally translated to English only for Martin to laugh at him.Life is not a pony farm. Life’s no walk in the park.
“All right,” Mum said. “We’re ready. What is it?”
How to start? Adrian should have considered that sooner, but he wasn’t in the habit of weighing his words around his parents. Maybehe should have brought Eric along and opted for a demonstration? On the other hand, it seemed wiser to get the initial excitement out of the way without scaring Eric into running back to London because whoa, hold on, bit too much there.
“So, you know how Eric’s family will arrive tomorrow?” Adrian set a big pack of eggs down on the counter and laced his hands. “I mean, obviously, you know that. But with Kojo’s girlfriend staying over, and Matteo, and how we don’t have a guest room for Eric’s parents—he’ll stay with me for the week. Like, in my bed.”
Okay,nothow Adrian had planned to break the news.
“In your bed,” Mum repeated slowly, with something like relish.
“Are we talking naked sleepovers?” Dad asked.
And there it went.
“Possibly.” Adrian lifted a shoulder. “I mean, yeah. Almost certainly.”
For a long second, no one said a word. Then Mum’s face broke into a huge smile. "Oh, I knew it. The moment I saw him—Iknewit.”
“That’s what you said about Martin,” Adrian told her dryly. “Also, please, perspective? We’re just … friends. With benefits. Eric isn’tstaying.”
Another second of silence passed.
“Do you want him to stay?” Dad asked, quiet. Fuck, trust him to go right where it hurt.
“I…” Adrian didn't know how to finish. He exhaled and shrugged, looked away. “I mean, maybe. Yeah.”
“Then he’d be an idiot not to.” Mum made it sound so easy when no, it wasn’t.
“His life’s in London. And he’s not… That’s not what we are. He’s not looking for serious.” Adrian thought about adding that he wasn’t either, but that would have felt a tad hollow. Not a lie, no, just not quite true either.
He wasn’t in love or anything. But it was nice to … have someone, kind of. Even if it was only for a little while, and even if it wasn’t too serious—it was nice.
Yeah.
