Chapter 16 Flynn
FLYNN
“Are you sure I’m not gatecrashing?”
It’s Friday night. I’ve met Jimmy in town to help him celebrate the end of finals. Again. This time, we’re meeting all his friends.
Jimmy puts his arm around my waist and kisses me. “Not at all. Besides, I want to show you off to all my friends.”
“They’re already met me.” I grimace. “Sort of.”
He waves his hand. “Let’s call that a false start. Besides, I didn't introduce you to them properly.”
“No. I ran away.”
“So did I. Let’s forget that night ever happened, okay?”
I shake my head and brush my fingers over his jaw. “No.”
He raises his brows. “Why not?”
“Because if that night hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be here now. Together.”
Jimmy smiles. “Good point.” He kisses me. “Well made.”
We wander over to his friends. Angus is already here. He grins and gives me a fist bump.
“Glad you could join us.”
“Me, too.”
Jimmy clears his throat. “Everyone, I want you to meet my gorgeous boyfriend, Flynn.”
Boyfriend. Hearing Jimmy proclaim it to his mates makes my cheeks warm.
He points at each of his friends in turn, rattling off their names, as if I’m going to remember them all.
They’re all huge, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering they’re all in the Barbell Soc.
I’ve never been surrounded by so many bulging muscles before.
“My round,” Jimmy proclaims.
His friends cheer and give them their orders.
He frowns when Angus asks for a non-alcoholic beer. “I thought you were crashing at my place tonight so you could drink.”
Angus smiles and shrugs. “I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“I’m not inviting you to sleep in my bedroom. You can crash on the sofa.”
My cheeks become hot again. We’ve fucked on that sofa.
Angus laughs. “It’s fine. I’m used to not drinking.”
“But we’re celebrating tonight!”
“I can celebrate and stay sober.”
Jimmy purses his lips and stares at Angus for several seconds. “Suit yourself. The offer of a place to crash is still there.”
“And I appreciate it.”
Jimmy heads towards the bar. I follow, because there’s no way he’s going to be able to carry that many drinks on his own, even with a tray. I’m amazed he can remember what everyone requested. The cost of the drinks is eye-watering.
“Not too overwhelmed?” he asks.
“I won’t be able to remember everyone’s names.”
He snort-laughs. “Don’t worry, they’ll be too drunk to care soon.”
I was right. It takes both of us to carry the drinks.
Even then, they’re precariously balanced on trays.
We make it back to his friends without incident and hand out the drinks.
They’ve pulled three tables together, but it’s still a bit of a squish for us all to sit around them.
I’m sandwiched between Jimmy and Steph. Jimmy and I twine our fingers together beneath the table, resting our hands on his powerful thigh.
I'm a little out of it. Everyone is friendly and tries to involve me in the conversation, but weightlifting isn't my thing. Even though I took my finals a year ago, I can relate to their hopes and fears. The worry they might not have revised enough, and the pressure of deciding what comes next. I lucked out with the job offer from Angus’s mum. Between that and graduating, I could only get temporary work on farms. I helped with harvests in the autumn and with sheep dipping and shearing in the spring. Now, here I am, working full-time on a dairy farm. Hopefully, my newfound bubble of happiness won’t burst.
“You okay?” Jimmy whispers into my ear.
“Yes. Your friends are nice.”
They are. I’m glad Jimmy has such a massive group of friends.
After a third round of drinks, everyone decides to move to a nightclub for more drinking and dancing. I’m happy to go along with them.
The nightclub is already busy, the music is deafening and thrums through my body, plus it’s hot and sticky inside.
We make our way onto the dance floor. We start as a huge group, but it’s not long before Jimmy’s friends begin to drift away and flirt.
Jimmy and I dance close, our hands on each other’s hips, our stares locked.
Steph flings her arms around our shoulders, squishing us closer together. “You two look so sweet together,” she shouts above the music. She rubs her knuckles into my hair. “You’d better not break Jimmy’s heart.”
“I’m not planning on it.” It hurts my throat to raise my voice loud enough to be heard.
She grins. “Good, good. Oh, and by the way, you’re invited to my farewell party.”
“Farewell party?”
“She’s jetting off to the US,” Jimmy yells.
“I’m going to see how I fare on the bodybuilding circuit over there.” She releases us and shows off her biceps and triceps.
“Good luck,” I say.
“We’ll miss you,” Jimmy says.
“I’ll miss you, too. Have you decided what your plans are?”
Jimmy shrugs. “Other than staying in Leeds, no.”
Steph raises one eyebrow and nods her head towards me. “Does farm boy here have anything to do with that decision?”
“I’d already decided to stay, but Flynn being here is a bonus.” He winks at me.
“Make sure you figure out your future before you end up on the streets.” Steph moves away to dance with another friend.
I lean close so I can speak into his ear. “Is that likely?”
“Nah. I’ve got until the end of the summer,” he replies. “Hey, don’t look so worried. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Uh-huh.” He rubs his thumb between my eyebrows. “Why the frown?”
I make a concerted effort to relax my face. I hadn’t even realised I was frowning.
He grins. “Better.” He kisses me, and barely pulls away before kissing me again.
I wrap my arms around him, pulling our chests together, as our tongues tangle.
We continue dancing, shuffling around in a vaguely rhythmic circle as we kiss and hold each other.
His friends give us a few wolf-whistles, but I don’t care.
Let us be the centre of attention. I want them all to know how much I want Jimmy.
“We’ve only just reconnected.” I’m not sure I’ve spoken loud enough to be heard, even though my lips brush over his ear.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He squeezes my arse and pulls my groin against his.
I gasp at the welcome contact. We stop moving in a circle, instead swaying side to side as we grind and kiss. We’re not the only ones getting frisky on the dance floor. I’m not self-conscious about it, either. I’m too wrapped up in Jimmy to care if anyone notices we’ve got hard-ons for each other.
Angus boogies through the crowd towards us. “This is why I’m staying sober tonight.” He winks at us.
“Sofa!” Jimmy says. “I’m not inviting you to share our bed.”
I blink hard. Our bed?
“It’s fine. I have plans after we’re done here.”
I frown. “Plans?”
Angus glances between us, his eyes wide, pupils tiny, like he’s stuck in headlights or something. “Uh. Yeah. They involve my bed and lots of sleep.”
“Yeah, right,” Jimmy says. “Pull the other one.”
I look between them, sure I’m missing something. Not that it’s any of my business. If it were, I’d know about it.
Angus yawns in an over-the-top manner. “In fact, my bed is calling me right now. I’m out of here. See you later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That leaves our options wide open, then,” Jimmy says.
Angus flips him off and looks around before heading off in Steph’s direction.
Jimmy runs his fingers through my hair, which is sweaty from the heat and dancing. “Want to get out of here, too?”
“Sure.”
We thread our way through the dancers, saying goodbye to as many of Jimmy’s friends as we can find; some must have already left.
We leave, stepping outside into the welcoming fresh air.
It’s a warm night, yet outside it's cool compared to the nightclub. We walk, hand in hand, in the direction of Jimmy’s house, pausing as we reach a quiet spot at the edge of town.
We find a bench to sit on and stare at the stars.
Or the handful of stars that aren’t obscured by the city lights.
“Angus is seeing someone,” Jimmy says.
“You don’t need to tell me.”
He squeezes my hand. “I want to. I trust you. You won’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t.”
He smiles. “They won’t need to skulk around much longer. Once they’re out in the open, maybe we could go on a double date or something.”
Skulk around? Out in the open? Who is Angus seeing?
“The stars are shit here.”
I chuckle. “The stars are just fine; it’s the light pollution that sucks.”
“Is that why you like the countryside so much?”
I slouch on the bench and lean my head against his shoulder. “One of the reasons.”
“Maybe we could go for a romantic moonlit hike, or something.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure I’d want to do that somewhere I’m not familiar with. What if we got lost, or had an accident?”
“A romantic daytime hike?”
“I’d like that. Bi—” I bite my tongue.
“What?”
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”
“It does, or you wouldn’t have started saying it.”
I sit upright and shake my head. “It’s not fair of me to compare you and Billy. It makes me an arse.”
“It doesn’t. Besides, as long as I come off better, compare away.” He grins.
I press my lips together, suppressing a laugh that feels wrong to let out.
“Let me guess. Billy never went on romantic country walks with you.”
“Jimmy—”
“It’s all right, I’ll stop. You were with him for a long time. It’s natural you’d end up comparing us. I am his twin.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you’re anything alike.”
“Oh, thank god. I worried you’d say we were similar.”
I cup his face and stare into his eyes. “No. Not at all. And I’ll stop. No more thinking about Billy when I’m with you. He’s my past. You’re my—”
“Your—?” He lifts his eyebrows.
“My now.”
He smiles and grazes his lips over mine. “I’m very happy being your now. Let’s go home.”
“Home?”
He laughs. “You know what I mean. To mine. Unless you want to get a taxi to the farm? I’d like to see your room.”
“Not tonight. It’s too far. Besides, I’m not sure what the rules are on bringing guys to the farm for sex.”
“We’re going to have sex, are we?”
“God, I hope so. I’m all hot and bothered after dancing so close.”
He laughs. “Me, too. But I’m also a little tipsy.”
“Me, too, but not so tipsy I don’t know what I want.”
“Home?”
“Home.”