Chapter Thirteen
Laurie
I spent my whole weekend alone working or cleaning the flat, hoping that by staying busy I’d be able to distract myself from my feelings.
In the two and a half weeks since my conversation with Spencer, I’d been doing my best not to run away from my emotions, but that didn’t mean I’d taken charge of them either.
The most I’d done was acknowledge they were there and attempt not to overthink my interactions with Theo. What would be, would be.
Although I had to admit that maybe it would be faster if I actually did something.
Tying him every day was a step, though, and I fell asleep every night looking forward to the next morning when Theo would stand in his underwear in the middle of my room, waiting so beautifully for me.
I’d started dreaming about different ties, and more than once I’d found myself using a spare ten minutes at work to research ideas.
I’d seen one on Friday that I was itching to try, which involved creating a chain of hearts down the outside of the thigh, with each one being anchored to a rope band.
I’d spent some of Saturday evening practising it on myself and working out various options to create the bands that would allow them to stay in place throughout the day without slipping and rubbing.
At this current moment, though, I was in the bathroom putting out candles and unpacking some glittering, floral bath bombs.
Usually I just filled Theo’s bath with bubbles, but today I wanted to do something special.
I’d already made food for later—cannelloni stuffed with spinach and ricotta—and had left it under foil in the kitchen, ready to stick in the oven whenever we wanted.
There was a nervous feeling bubbling in my stomach and I didn’t know where it had come from. Today shouldn’t have been different from any other Sunday when Theo came back from filming, but it was. I just couldn’t explain why.
“I’m home!” Theo called. I heard the front door slam a moment later and his feet on the stairs. “Laurie?”
“I’m in the bathroom,” I said, shoving the last of the candles into place and suddenly wondering where the fuck I’d put the matches. Grabbing the empty candle box, I headed out the door and almost walked straight into Theo. “Shit! Sorry, darling.”
“It’s okay.” He smiled softly up at me and my heart fluttered like a sparrow taking flight. “What’s in the box?”
I turned it over. “It’s empty now, but it did have something for you in it.”
“For me?” Theo’s face lit up and he clapped his hands. I noticed he was still wearing the bracelet I’d tied for him on Friday before he’d left. “What is it?”
“I’ll show you in a minute,” I said. “But first, I need to put this down.” I waved the box lightly.
“And secondly, you’re going to tell me why you’re still wearing your ropes when I told you to take them off on Friday night, or Saturday at the latest. I’m assuming you’re still wearing the ankle one too. ”
Theo shrugged. “They looked nice and they made me feel good, so I left them on. They’re not rubbing. And I was super careful in the shower too. I wrapped them in plastic bags so they wouldn’t get too wet.”
I wanted to tell him off for disobeying me, but his reasoning was so sweet I didn’t have it in me to get cross with him. Besides, I didn’t want to start a fight. Not today.
“Next time,” I said, “please remember to take them off. Or I’ll do you ones that you can easily take off and put back on again.” It would take a bit of work to make something that functioned more like a traditional bracelet, but I would figure something out if it made Theo happy.
“Okay, fine. But only because you asked nicely,” Theo said.
“Don’t be a brat.” I chuckled and shook my head as I walked into the kitchen to quickly shove the empty box into the recycling bin.
“I’m not a brat,” Theo said when I reappeared. He’d been stood outside the bathroom waiting for me and my stomach tightened. “I’m just… I know what I want and I like getting it.”
“I think that’s the definition of a brat,” I said fondly. “Especially if your method of getting what you want is to whine and pout.”
“I don’t whine.” I raised an eyebrow and Theo huffed. “I don’t!”
“What are you doing now then?”
“I’m tired and you’re being mean,” Theo said, folding his arms and pouting. “I had a very busy weekend! Also”—he brightened suddenly—“I discovered something! Jake and Kai are fucking, and not just on camera.”
“Oh? How did you figure that out?”
“They kept bickering over silly things, like chicken wings, and the way they were fighting just screamed we’re fucking, so I asked them and I was right.”
I laughed. “They just admitted it?”
“Well, yeah. They’re not going to lie to me. I’m far too adorable for that.”
“You’re definitely very cute,” I said, reaching out to slide my hand into his and squeezing gently. Theo’s pout melted into a smile. “Would you like your surprise now?”
“Yes! Please. I love surprises. At least, I love them when they’re from you. As long as they’re nice ones, not mean ones like telling me to do housework or that it’s my turn to wash up.”
I raised my eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Theo giggled and I knew he was trying to wind me up. I wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction of pushing my buttons, not when I couldn’t punish him for it.
Pushing away the re-emerging thoughts of bending Theo over my lap and spanking him, I led him into the bathroom.
I’d lined the candles up on the long shelf that we had on the wall opposite the bath as well as on the small windowsill at the end.
The bath bombs were laid out on the little tiled area at one end of the bath behind the taps, where we kept things like soap, hair products, and a variety of face masks and cleansers.
Theo let out the sweetest gasp of surprise as he noticed everything, pulling on my hand to get my attention. “Oh, are those for me?”
“They are,” I said. “The candles are honey and lavender, and the bath bombs are a variety of scents. You can pick one and then we can run your bath. I just need to find the matches for the candles, though.”
“I think they’re on the bookcase in the living room,” Theo said. “From when we had that power cut back in February and lit those pillar candles so we could see to eat dinner.”
“I think you’re right.”
I chuckled softly at the memory of that night.
It had been during one of the wild winter storms at the start of February, and we’d been just about to start eating when the power went out.
We hadn’t known how long it would be off for, so we’d dug some old pillar candles out of the cupboard, ones I couldn’t even remember when or why we’d bought, and eaten dinner by candlelight.
Afterwards, we’d played card games and Theo had told ghost stories, because he’d insisted that was what you did over candlelight, and while he’d said nothing scared him, he’d still crawled into my bed that night clutching Basil and clung to me while he slept.
“You choose your bath bomb. I’ll find the matches,” I said, kissing the top of his head as I walked out of the bathroom.
I heard Theo humming and muttering to himself as I headed for the living room.
It took me longer than I’d have liked to find both the matches and the candles, since neither were on the bookcase as Theo has suggested, but eventually I found them in the drawer of the old dresser, and by the time I returned to the bathroom, the bath was running and Theo was already naked.
“I chose the cherry and vanilla one,” Theo said, holding out a deep pink bath bomb with swirls of pale golden glitter mixed through it and a cluster of dried cherry blossom petals pressed into the top. “Shall I put it in?”
“Yes.” The single word was a struggle as my eyes roamed over the soft lines of Theo’s body. I’d seen him naked a hundred times before, but today it was like I was suddenly seeing him for the first time.
Theo was so beautiful I was utterly lost for words.
And now he was staring at me like he’d suddenly noticed me too.
I felt the air shift around us, and it wasn’t just because of the steam rising from the bath.
Something had changed between us. I didn’t know what it was or what had caused it, but all I knew was something was different and whatever our relationship was had been fundamentally altered forever.
Theo took half a step towards me, bath bomb still clutched tightly in his fingers. “Laurie,” he said softly.
I moved now, closing the gap between us until we were stood barely six inches apart. “Yes.”
“I… I want…” Theo looked up at me, his eyes shining and sweet, soft mouth slightly open.
“I know. I want it too.”
I reached for him, my hand wrapping around his waist and feeling the heat of his skin under my palm. Theo pressed against me, rising up onto his toes as I tilted my head down and brushed my lips against his.
The kiss was gentle at first, almost hesitant. Like the two of us knew after this there’d be no going back. It wasn’t the final frontier or the last barrier between us, but it was a fundamental change. The point of no return.
I leapt willingly into the arms of fate.
Pulling Theo closer, I deepened the kiss, pressing my lips firmly against his. Theo sighed and melted against me, his mouth insistent.
It wasn’t a kiss that moved mountains or shattered worlds. Instead, it felt like coming home after a long journey. A feeling of rightness, of belonging, of knowing that out of everywhere I could be, this was the place I needed to be.
We broke apart and I gazed down into his bright blue eyes, drinking in every detail like it was the first and last time I’d ever see his face.
Theo was smiling and seemed lost for words.
I didn’t have any either, so we just stood there in silence for a long moment until I became aware of the sound of running water.
The bath was still on.
“You should put your bath bomb in,” I said, my words sounding louder than a jet engine, though they were barely above a whisper.
Theo nodded and slowly pulled away to drop the pink ball into the hot water, where it fizzed and bubbled, sending a cloud of fragrance into the steaming air as the water turned cherry red.
He giggled softly, leaning over to swirl some of the blossoms across the glittering surface of the water.
I’d always loved the joy Theo found in small and unusual things, from bath bombs to stuffed mice.
He saw beauty in places other people had forgotten to look and in things people had thrown away.
“You should get in with me,” he said, turning his head to look at me over his shoulder.
“I don’t think we’ll both fit.”
“We’ll squish.” He reached for the taps and turned them off. “Please. It’ll be fun.”
I couldn’t tell him no. Besides, I didn’t want to. The practical part of me was insistently pointing out how ridiculous this was. The rest of me didn’t care. “Okay. Just this once.”
Theo clapped his hands as he straightened up, reaching for the buttons on my shirt.
I let him undress me and tried to keep my breathing level.
He was barely touching me and yet this felt like the most intimate thing we’d ever done.
I supposed it was—if you didn’t count the fact I spent time every morning wrapping him up in rope.
When he’d finished with my shirt, I pushed it off over my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. “Give me your wrist,” I said. “I need to take your tie off.”
“Will you put it back on tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’ll do you something tomorrow,” I said as Theo stretched out his arm. It was easy to untie the bracelet and I laid the rope on the nearby towel rail for safekeeping while I knelt to undo the one on Theo’s ankle.
“Will it be pretty?”
“Of course. But not as pretty as you.” I looked up at him from my kneeling position and saw emotion radiating out of his face. It made my heart soar, like a kite on a summer breeze. “There. All done.”
“You’re still not naked, though,” Theo said with a twinkling gleam in his eye.
“I know.” I stood and quickly unbuttoned my trousers, sliding them off along with my boxers before quickly toeing off my socks.
Theo pouted. “I wanted to do that.”
“Next time.” Because we both knew there would be a next time.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Good!” Theo reached for my hand, sliding his fingers into mine as he stepped into the bath. “Mmm, that’s perfect.” He looked around at me with a thoughtful frown. “If you get in too, you can sit at that end, and I’ll squeeze between your legs.”
“Do you think that’ll work?” I asked, giving the bath a dubious look.
“I don’t know. That’s why we have to try. Now stop dawdling and get in!”
I huffed out a laugh as I climbed into the bath. The water was hot but not painfully so. “You’re being a brat again.”
“No, I’m being practical and getting things done.” He grinned at me and shuffled slightly farther towards the taps so I had room to sit down. Water sloshed over my thighs, but it was slightly roomier than I’d imagined. “See, I told you it would be fine.”
“Yes, you’re very clever,” I said sarcastically, reaching out to tap his thigh. He stuck his tongue out at me, then squeaked as I gently swatted his leg. It was more a playful gesture, but his reaction made my cock take interest. “Sit down.”
“I’m going to!” Theo turned and stuck his bottom out before lowering himself into the water.
It felt incredibly teasing, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of me.
Not yet. Instead, I opened my legs so he could scoot between them and slide backwards until his bottom was pressed against my crotch and his back was leaning against my chest.
It was a tight fit but not as horrifically uncomfortable as I’d imagined and it helped that both Theo and I were fairly slim, although I had nothing more than genetics to thank for that.
I put my arm around him and gently pulled him backwards until he was lying against my chest. It was no different from the way we sometimes lay on the sofa, except this time we were both naked and I was hyper-aware of the feel of Theo’s body against mine.
And while I couldn’t deny it was turning me on, it wasn’t the primary emotion I felt. That was the continued sense of rightness, of peace.
That this was right where we were supposed to be.