Chapter 12 Angus #2
He puts the back of his hand against my sweaty forehead. “You’re sick.”
I bat his hand away. “No. I’ve been dancing. You’re just as hot and sweaty. And no, I don’t have an STD.”
“So, what gives?”
I shrug. “I just… haven’t met anyone I want to go home with recently.” I hate lying to him, but I have to. I can’t give him any reason to think I’m seeing anyone, let alone Richard.
“Umm… you’ve danced with tons of guys with a pulse tonight, which is the bar you usually set.”
I flip him off.
“I’m worried about you.”
“Because I’m not fucking every guy with a pulse at the moment?”
“Basically, yes.”
I laugh and shake my head. “There’s more to life than sex. For example, we have finals soon.”
“Uni stuff has never stopped you before.”
I sigh. He’s acting like a dog with a bone. I have to say something he’ll believe. Maybe I should have gone with the STD thing, except we’ve discussed safe sex and got tested together, so although he mentioned it, he probably wouldn’t have believed it. He knows I’m always careful.
“I really want to do well in these exams. Between coursework, revision, and helping out on the farm, I’m getting kind of stressed.”
Jimmy relaxes his arms. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Be my study buddy whenever we have free time together on campus?”
He play-punches me. “You’ve got it. I’ve always got your back, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You can tell me anything.”
Well, shit, now I feel guilty for keeping things from him. I smile. “I know. And I really appreciate it. You can tell me anything, too.” I jab my thumb in the direction of the door. “Now can we stop hanging out in stink central and go enjoy the last few songs?”
“Sure. We should check on Steph, too.”
“She seemed pretty happy.”
He laughs. “Yeah, she did.” He hooks his arm around my neck and pulls me towards the door. “She’s going to pull tonight. Mind if I do?”
“Why would I mind? I need to get home anyway.”
We step out of the toilets and get blasted by music.
Together, we make our way across the dance floor until we find Steph.
She’s dancing with the same two women. If I were into that at all, watching them would give me a raging hard-on within seconds.
Jimmy and I dance together for a short while, but before long, a guy I dimly recognise coaxes Jimmy away from me.
Now’s not the time to tell Jimmy I’ve already been there, done that with the guy who’s hitting on him. I grin. Jimmy will have fun with him.
Dad and I are mending a fence when Mum’s car comes into view. We finish up as quickly as we can and walk back to the house. Mum’s car is parked beside Elle. The kitchen door is open. There are two distinct voices inside, Mum’s and a man’s. Dad and I exchange a confused glance.
We go inside and find Mum pouring tea for a guy who looks to be around my age.
He’s good-looking, smaller built than I am, with short, fluffy brown hair and bright blue eyes.
Am I allowed to find another guy attractive while I’m fucking Richard?
I guess so. We’re only casual. We haven’t defined boundaries, because there aren’t any.
“Who’s this?” Dad asks.
Mum glares at him. “Well, hello to you, too.” She sets the teapot on a mat and strides over to kiss him.
“Hi,” he grumbles. “Who’s this?” He points at Mum’s guest.
“This is Flynn. I’ve hired him to help out on the farm so Angus can concentrate on his studies.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you,” Flynn says.
I wave hello.
Dad’s jaw drops. He looks Flynn up and down. “He doesn’t look strong enough to lift a bale of straw, let alone a fifteen-kilogram feed bag.”
Mum sighs. “He has a degree in farm management.”
Dad scratches his head. “You don’t need a fancy-dancy degree to work on a farm. You need practical experience.”
“Which is what he’s going to get here.” Mum smiles broadly.
“Uh, I do have experience,” Flynn says. “I didn’t grow up on a farm, but I did work experience before and during my degree, and seasonal work since I graduated.”
Mum gives Dad an ‘I told you so’ look. “And he has lots of good ideas on how to improve efficiency and about some potential extra revenue streams, so things are less tight.”
Dad pinches his lips together like he’s sucking on the world’s sourest sweet. “Things are efficient enough, thank you. I don’t need someone who’s more brains than brawn coming in here and telling me how to run my farm.”
“I wouldn’t dream of doing that,” Flynn says.
Dad glares at him. Flynn looks away, biting his lip—poor guy.
“I think you should give him a go,” I say.
“I don’t need you sticking your oar in, either,” Dad snaps.
I fold my arms. “Okay, put it this way, you don’t have much choice. Mum’s right, I need to focus on my degree. Studying and pulling my weight here is too much. I can’t do it anymore.”
“You’ve been coping just fine.”
“No. I haven’t.” I give Flynn an apologetic look.
I can’t imagine what he’s thinking right now. Mum offers him a job, and then he walks into a family argument. Fun times.
“Where’d you find him, anyway?” Dad asks Mum.
“He’s the grandson of Mum’s neighbour.”
“I want to work on smaller farms,” Flynn says. “The trouble is they’re mostly family-run and aren’t looking for outside help.”
“Nor am I,” Dad grunts.
“Well, you should be,” Mum says. “You should have looked for someone as soon as Angus said he was going to university.”
Dad grumbles under his breath.
“I’ve offered Flynn a three-month trial. Full room and board.”
Dad flaps his mouth open and closed.
“We’ve got plenty of room, and it doesn’t take much to cook for an extra mouth.”
“Will you be here to cook for him?” Dad demands.
“No. I have to go back to be with Mum, as I mentioned earlier. But you’re quite capable of cooking. He’s a good cook, actually,” she says with more affection in her voice than Dad deserves right now.
“I can cook,” Flynn says. “I’m happy to do my share, and I can start straight away. I believe you get your cows in to be milked at four?”
Dad nods.
“I’ll help with that. I also noticed a couple of weak spots on the fence as we drove up here. I can show you, if you want. Assuming you haven’t spotted them yourself.”
Dad looks grumpier than ever.
“Well?” Mum asks.
He throws his hands up. “Fine. I can’t exactly say no, can I, as I’m being ganged up on. Three months?”
Mum nods.
Dad wags his finger at Flynn. “You’d better make a good impression. I don’t like slackers.”
“I’m not a slacker.”
“We’ll see about that.” Dad looks him up and down once more. “I’ve got things to do.” He stalks out of the house.
Mum sighs. “I did warn you he was grumpy.”
Flynn smiles. “You did. I’m sure he’ll be okay once I’ve proved myself.”
Mum looks to me. “Maybe you could show Flynn around Leeds at some point. I’m sure he’d be interested in the nightlife, too.”
Is she trying to set us up? No. I’m imagining it. “Uh, sure. I usually go out with friends after uni on Thursdays to bars, and we go to a club on some Fridays. You’re welcome to join us.”
“Thanks,” Flynn says.
“Right. Now all that’s sorted, I’ll see what there is for dinner. There is food in, isn’t there, Angus?”
“Yes, don’t worry. We’ve been looking after ourselves.”
“And each other?”
I grimace and shrug.
She sighs. “Hopefully, not working together will improve your relationship with your Dad.”
I press my lips together, unconvinced.
“Do you have plans later, love?”
“Uh—”
What do I say? I can't invite Flynn along, but I also don’t want to hint that I’m meeting someone special. The last thing I need is for Mum to start grilling me about my sex life. She has a way of teasing information out of me.
I rub the back of my hair. “Yeah, sort of. Jimmy wants help with an essay.”
“On a Saturday night?”
“His deadline was yesterday.”
Mum tuts and rolls her eyes. “I’m glad you don’t leave things until the last minute. You don’t, do you?”
“No.”
“Good. Well, I expect you’ll want to get off straight after dinner?”
“If possible.”
She nods. “Then why don’t you help Flynn and your dad with the cows, and I’ll get dinner sorted. You can show Flynn around the farm while you’re at it, and show him the empty rooms. My great-great-granddad built it for a much bigger family.”
He had five sons and two daughters. The house is far too big for a family of three. The spare bedrooms are doing nothing but gathering dust.
“Happy to,” I say. Especially as it means I get to meet Richard much earlier than I thought I’d be able to. “Wait. Does this mean I don’t have to get up and help with the cows in the morning?”
Mum beams. “That’s exactly what this means.”
“I can handle it,” Flynn confirms. “As long as your dad will let me.”
“Oh, he will, or he’ll have me to answer to,” Mum says.
We all laugh, which helps me conceal my giddy happiness. I get to meet Richard earlier and spend the whole night with him. I can’t wait.