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I had no idea what I was doing.
But what I did know was I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
I barely knew the guy. Seriously. Yet I’d had a shower at his place last night and then walked around naked, telling him some story from school when I’d tried to be friends with someone, and they’d completely destroyed me by telling the whole school I was gay and in love with him.
It had been a horrible time in my life. Not the whole school thinking I was gay bit. That shit didn’t bother me, not even back then. I’d been working on another teen show at the time, playing a gay guy. The whole bloody country thought I was gay. What was new? No, what did bother me was the complete betrayal of trust by someone I’d thought was my friend.
Thathad bloody hurt.
Matt had sat in bed in his fluffy pyjamas, laughed at me and said no wonder my friend hadn’t wanted to be friends if I was walking around naked at his house all the time.
Which was why I adored him.
I blushed even thinking those thoughts. I knew I was…kind of damaged from years in the acting industry. Nudity was normal. In some situations. I wouldn’t walk around on set with my junk hanging out. Come on. But at home, I always ran around the house in the buff. My mum used to come down and pop the kettle on just wearing her shower cap.
But I hadn’t been at home. I’d been in Matt’s house. Yeah. I could see the issue there, but then Matt hadn’t batted an eyelash. He just pointed at the dressing gown and offered me a choice of pyjamas but banned me from wearing his underpants.
I’d slept naked in the end.
Matt had muttered something about breaking into my hotel room and retrieving my clothes, should I continue to steal his. He used some funny words. He was sassy. Smart. Sarcastic as fuck.
He also took me for what I was—hadn’t even reacted when my naked arse had pushed up against his thigh. Well, he’d lightly slapped my hip and told me to get my butt back on my own side of the bed, but he’d been laughing as he said it. I’d laughed too.
It had been a long time since I’d fallen asleep with a smile on my face.
The key for his flat dangled between my fingers. I’d left my gym bag there.
Not on purpose.
OK, maybe a little on purpose.
I chucked a few things from the wardrobe into a laundry bag and grabbed Aisha’s gift bag, which she’d delivered to my trailer with a very cheeky smile on her face. It was a woven jute monstrosity proclaiming to save the planet, inside it a very pretty bottle of pink gin, some rainbow-edition posh tonic, herbs of some kind and two rustic glasses. Whoever this Hashim was, I was definitely going to ask Aisha to use him for all my future gifting needs.
I really needed to figure out how to go shopping like a normal person. Visit stores and pick out appropriate gifts, not have Lucia send my mum birthday presents, even if Mum did order mine off Amazon and have them delivered to my hotel. Whatever. She’d bought me another hundred pounds’ worth of gift cards to stick on my Kindle. I’d swiftly loaded up a brand-new sci-fi series and already ploughed through the first two books. She knew what I liked.
I had no idea what Lucia bought her. Flowers, usually, I think. Plus, I’d paid for Mum and Aunt Trish to go to Italy one year.
Dammit. Get a grip, Con!
I’d walked the route on automatic with my stuff slung over my shoulder and a cap on my head, and now I was letting myself into someone else’s block of flats like I lived here, sticking my key in the door and…
“Hello?” I called, finding some manners at the last second.
“Hiya! Come on in! I wasn’t sure when you’d be back. Lucky I made enough stir-fry for both of us—whatare you wearing?”
He was in the kitchen, wearing an apron withKiss the Cook!printed in big, showy letters.
“Am I supposed to do that?” I asked, laughing. Stupid. I was so bloody stupid.
Matt pouted before shoving a fork in my face. “Spicy enough?”
I took whatever he was offering me. Noodles. Their spicy warmth tingled on my tongue.
Matt continued stirring. “Mrs Wu does it better. She told me what to put in, but I’m still struggling to get the quantities right.”
“I like Mrs Wu.” Her takeaway was one of the few things I would miss when I moved on from this area.
“You need to start wearing your own clothes, Con. We’re not the same size.”
