Chapter 12
12
S o. Apparently, kissing was a thing we did now. For practice. According to today, anyway, three days after the first practice kiss. We’d had two hours of gaming after spending an hour working on our respective assignments. After we’d completed a campaign we’d been attempting to finish for a while, Leo had suggested that we should celebrate with a movie. We’d curled up on my bed with a bowl of popcorn, and about five minutes into the film, Leo had looked over at me.
“Finn?”
“Yeah?”
He bit down on his lip, his cheeks flushing. “Never mind.”
“Little lion.” The nickname slipped so easily from my mouth, despite it originally being more of a tease than a proper nickname. “Tell me.”
“I was thinking…I need more practice kissing. I’ve only done it once, and if you don’t mind?—”
“I don’t mind.” Twisting my body, I reached for him, curving my hand around his nape. There was no need for him to reply. We were both on the same page, our lips meeting, and it was just as good as the first time we’d done this.
It was too good.
It was fucking killing me.
We were now an hour into the movie, and we’d kissed another two times after the first one. We’d ended up reclined on the bed, my torso propped up with three pillows while Leo curled into my side, his fingertips tracing over my knuckles. I’d thrown a blanket over our lower halves, and I’d pulled one of my legs up a bit, purely because these kisses were having a very unwelcome side effect on my dick.
What would Leo think of me if he knew I was getting hard from his kisses? And it wasn’t only his kisses that were having this effect on me, if I was honest with myself. If I had any sense, I’d pull away, draw a line that we shouldn’t cross, cut out the cuddling and kissing. But I knew it would upset him, and I was too selfish to stop. I wanted to keep kissing him. I wanted to wrap him in my arms. I wanted to lie on my bed, bantering with my best friend and to know he was comfortable enough around me to share things he wouldn’t share with anyone else.
I couldn’t. Fucking. Stop.
Each time Leo gave me the look , his green eyes wide and hopeful, his lips slightly parted like he was already preparing for us to kiss, I couldn’t help leaning in. It was like a compulsion. And the weirdest part about it was that it wasn’t weird at all. Just like everything else in our relationship, it felt so natural. Normal.
I ran my fingers through his soft, tousled hair, enjoying the warmth and closeness of his presence. He breathed out, tapping my knuckle with his index finger.
“Finn. Thank you for doing all this. Really. It means a lot.”
“You know I’ll do anything for you,” I said instantly. I’m doing it for me, too , was my unspoken admission. My mouth kept going, words I hadn’t planned to say spilling out unchecked. “Want to practise kissing some more?”
He nodded against me, shifting around and raising himself onto one elbow. His hand went to my cheek, and he rubbed his thumb across my stubble.
“Guess I won’t be dealing with this if I end up kissing any girls.”
Nausea churned inside me, and I had to swallow several times before I could respond to him.
“I need a shave,” was all I managed to say, but it made him smile.
“It suits you. Shaved or stubble. You look good either way.”
I felt my cheeks heating at his simply stated comment. Fucking hell, it was like I’d never been complimented before. My brain wasn’t working enough to give me words for a reply, so instead, I lifted my head and kissed him again.
“Ugh! Bro, that’s grim! My eyes!”
We sprang apart so fast that I almost fell off the bed, throwing out my arms at the last second to stabilise myself.
My brother stood in my doorway, smirking as he pretended to scrub at his eyes.
“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” I’d thought my face was hot before, but it was at volcano levels now.
“I did knock, but I guess you two were too busy.” Ed puckered his lips, making the most obnoxious kissing sounds. “I was gonna see if either of you could help me decide on the photo I should submit for my assignment, but?—”
“We’ll help,” Leo said immediately, pulling himself upright. I glanced over at him, noting how flushed he was, but other than that, he didn’t seem too concerned that Ed had just caught us kissing. Now I thought about it, Ed didn’t seem that bothered, either. Weird. Leo, I could understand because he could’ve assumed that I’d spoken to my brother about the kissing practice—which I hadn’t—but Ed? I needed to have a word with him in private.
Needed to…but I knew I’d be putting that awkward conversation off for as long as possible.
“Cool, thanks.” He crossed the room to my bed, throwing himself down between us. It was only then that I noticed he had his laptop clasped under his arm. Opening the lid, he tapped on the screen. “Okay. I narrowed it down to four, and they’re all gonna be in my final portfolio, but I need to pick the standout photo to blow up big and mount.”
Leo shifted forwards, his brows pulling together as he focused on the screen while Ed went through each of the images. It was so fucking cute that he was so invested in my brother’s schoolwork, and?—
Cute. Really, Finn?
“Fuck’s sake,” I mumbled to myself. They both turned to look at me in unison, and I quickly shook my head. “Not that. Don’t worry. Uh, I like the waterfall photo best.”
Ed frowned. “You don’t think it’s a bit cliché?”
“I like the shoe one,” Leo said. “It’s like you’re an ant or something, and you’re about to get stepped on. The black and white makes it more dramatic, too.”
A huge grin spread across my brother’s face, and he fist pumped the air. “Yeah! That’s exactly what I was going for! I did the underside of the boot, so it looks like you’re about to be splatted beneath it.” He clapped his hands together, making a splatting sound for effect. “Yeah. That’s the one. Thanks, Leo.”
Closing the lid of his laptop with a slam that made me wince, he hopped off the bed. With a salute and another bright smile, he disappeared, closing the door behind him.
“I’m—”
The door flew open again, and Ed strode back into the room, swiped the bowl of popcorn from where I’d left it on my bedside table, and then walked out again. He paused in the doorway. “Gonna need sustenance for the all-nighter I’m about to pull. This saves me going down to the kitchen. Thanks, bro. Bros.”
After he’d gone, I waited a minute before I spoke again, just to make sure he wasn’t going to come bursting back into the room. When my door remained closed, I collapsed back on my bed with a groan.
“Sorry.”
Leo smiled. “I don’t mind helping him. We weren’t really watching the movie, anyway, were we?”
We both glanced towards my TV. Honestly, after I’d started kissing Leo, I’d kind of forgotten we were watching anything.
“Yeah. Not about that. Sorry that…uh, that he saw us kissing.”
Leo bit down on his lip. “He didn’t seem that surprised, so I assumed you’d told him about us practising.”
“No. I definitely did not tell my nosy brother about that. I wouldn’t, not without checking if you were okay with him knowing first. I wouldn’t even think of telling him at all, to be honest.”
“Oh. Well, I guess he found out somehow. I guess…I don’t mind him knowing about that. I know the two of you like to rile each other up, but you don’t mean it, do you? I trust him. He’s a good guy.”
“Yeah, he is,” I said softly. “He knows when to back off, and believe it or not, he can actually be discreet when it matters. He’d never knowingly do anything to upset you, either.”
“Okay, then it’s not a problem.”
I shook my head. How was Leo taking this so well? Fuck, he’d changed so much in the time I’d known him. Around my family, especially. It really did feel like he was part of the family.
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” Leo patted the bed. “Can we pretend to watch the rest of the movie?”
I took the hint, moving back into my original reclined position, and Leo smiled, curling back into my body again as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It wasn’t long before his breathing slowed and his body went lax against me. It took me a while longer to fall asleep with so many thoughts running through my mind, but eventually, I succumbed, too.