9. Milo
MILO
It was hard not to laugh at the sight of Edward Chivington, who was always so put together when he appeared in public, unable to speak. He didn’t look annoyed or happy to see Milo; it was genuine shock.
Although their dynamic of Milo being in charge had only ever been tested in the bedroom, or darkroom if he was being specific, someone needed to take control.
He was certain nobody had seen him coming here, but that could quickly change.
Milo needed to do something now, so he pushed past Edward into the house.
“Close the door, Eddie . . . now!”
That snapped him out of his trance, and he quickly closed the door.
“What are you doing here? How long have you known? Did anyone see you?”
“Eddie! Breathe. I’ll answer all your questions, but I’m bursting for a pee. Can I use your toilet?”
“What? Oh, yes. Of course. It’s just there.” He gestured to a door next to the stairs.
“Great. Why don’t you put the kettle on and we can talk?”
He still seemed dazed, but Milo’s bladder was actually going to burst if he didn’t do something about it soon.
Once he was in the toilet and had pulled his dick out, the relief was instantaneous.
He’d been waiting nearby for ages. He’d had to wait for Edward to get home, and there had been some press hanging around.
They’d followed him home, and he was either oblivious to it, or he just didn’t care.
When it looked like he was in for the evening, they’d given up and left.
Milo had been waiting in a nearby coffee shop drinking water so he wouldn’t be hyper when they finally spoke.
He hadn’t thought of going to the toilet before he left.
Someone rang the doorbell, so he stayed quiet.
Milo heard muffled voices, and then the door closed.
After he’d taken care of business, he washed his hands and then wondered where Edward was going to be.
He’d be easy enough to find since he lived in only a three-bedroom house.
Yes, Milo had looked it up online and found pictures of what it looked like before Edward had bought it.
Once he’d had it confirmed who SilverFoxSubDL really was, Milo had gone deep into his research.
Walking out of the toilet, he almost crashed into Edward, who was standing there with his arms folded, holding a bag of takeaway food, and with a scowl on his face.
His political opponents might be intimidated by it, but Milo had heard this man begging to be fucked, so he was more amused than anything.
“I thought I told you to make tea,” said Milo, although he wasn’t able to stop himself from smiling.
“You don’t get to boss me around here.”
“We’ll see about that. Kitchen this way?” he took the bag of food off Edward and started walking.
He heard Edward give a deep sigh before following him.
Milo still wasn’t sure what he was going to say.
If his flatmates knew where he was right now, they’d disown him.
Probably not Liam, but the others wouldn’t hesitate.
After Milo had read the interview Edward had given, he’d needed to speak to him face-to-face, and he knew he wouldn’t have agreed to it.
He’d had no choice but to turn up on his doorstep.
“Did you want tea or coffee?” asked Milo, putting the food on the side.
“Are you offering to make me a drink in my own home?”
“You seem a bit distracted. And I must say, I prefer your real speaking voice to whatever you’ve been using the past few months.”
“I don’t know what to . . . Are you taking the piss? Why are you here, Milo? How did you get here? How did you know where I live?”
“Do you want me to answer those questions before I make tea, or after?”
“I’ll make the bloody tea. Just sit down and start talking.”
“Someone’s bossy today. You’ll pay for that later.”
Edward visibly shuddered at the words, which gave Milo a spark of hope that he hadn’t fucked everything up too much by turning up here unannounced. The kettle was switched on, and cups were pulled out of cupboards, before Edward folded his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter.
“How long have you known?” asked Edward.
There was a genuine look of fear on his face. Did he think Milo had known all along? Working in politics probably made it hard to trust people, and they may have been hooking up for a while now, but did they really know each other?
“It was after you said your name was Eddie. It sparked nothing immediately, but there were a few things that made me think it could be a possibility. An overactive imagination of possibilities, but still a possibility. Okay, how many times did I just say ‘possibility’ in the last few seconds?”
Edward’s mouth twitched as if he were trying to suppress a smile. It wasn’t much, but Milo would take it.
“To rule you out as an option, I did some digging and found that interview. I asked you the same questions, and that confirmed it.”
“So you blocked me.”
“Yeah. Not my best moment, but I took that news article at face value. One of my best friends, Lexie, is trans, and I’m overly protective of her, even though she can more than look after herself.
Once I knew it was you, and the scrutiny you’re under, I didn’t want what was happening between us to get out and fuck up your career.
” Milo had to take a breath. “It was all just too . . . messy.”
“Did you say your friend’s name was Lexie?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Is that why you’re here then, Milo? Did I pass your little test?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Does Lexie live in my constituency?”
“Yeah, but . . . wait . . . fuck! Did she come and see you?”
“Have you got a picture of her?”
“Yeah, on my phone.”
He pulled it out of his pocket and went to the album he had from her most recent birthday.
Edward walked into his space. The body wash he’d used took Milo immediately back to their times at The Back Room, and he felt his dick twitch.
Now wasn’t the time for his mind to be wandering to inappropriate places.
Edward looked at the picture and gave a nod.
“Yes, that’s her. So, you didn’t send her to speak to me?”
“No, I did not. She didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”
“Nothing like that. She told me her story. That’s what . . . that’s what inspired me . . . you know . . . to do the interview.”
“I can’t believe she did that. Well, I can believe she would do something like that, but it wasn’t what I expected you to say.”
“How long have you known Lexie?”
“Since university.”
“So, you’ve always . . .” He stopped, pondering the words he wanted to say.
“I’ve only ever known her as Lexie, if that’s what you were going to ask.”
Edward looked like he wasn’t sure what to say. His jaw ticked as if he were trying to hold in emotions. He clicked his fingers and spun round, putting the kettle back on and busying himself with the tea. It took only a few seconds to come to a boil again. He turned to look at Milo.
“White with two.”
Edward nodded and carried on making the tea.
The silence didn’t feel uncomfortable. It gave them both a moment to process this new dynamic.
It wasn’t just the fact that they could see each other, but Milo felt the power imbalance had shifted as well.
Edward was a high-flying politician, and Milo was just .
. . well, he was just Milo. They didn’t fit together, not even as friends.
Did they have anything in common other than their sexual compatibility?
And why was Milo even thinking like that?
It wasn’t like anything more serious could happen between them, but one thing was for certain: Eddie was even hotter in person than he was on TV or in pictures.
“I can hear you thinking from here,” said Edward, passing the tea to Milo. “Let’s go into the lounge.”
Milo followed him out of the kitchen, which was a sizeable space with a dining table and sofa in it.
They walked down a hallway, past the front door, and into a cosy lounge, which had a snug feel to it.
Edward sat on the sofa. Before he overthought it, Milo sat next to him and put his mug down on the side table.
“I guess you want to know why I’m here?”
He nodded.
“Obviously, I read your interview. Knew I’d been influenced by the shitty press again, which you think wouldn’t be so easy given I work in the industry.”
“What?”
“Oh, yeah. Nothing to panic about. I’m not a journalist. I’m just a PA.”
“Who for?”
“Patrick Whitaker.”
He visibly relaxed. “Patrick’s one of the few decent ones, but he knows nothing about us, does he?”
“I like my boss, but I don’t talk to him about my sex life.”
He chuckled. “Fair point. Neither do I.”
Milo laughed with him and then stopped.
“What?”
“It’s just the realisation that when you say ‘boss’ you’re referring to the prime minister.”
Edward smiled. Milo wasn’t sure what to say next, so he grabbed his tea and took a sip.
The man could make a good cup of tea. That was a big tick in the plus column.
Not that he had a running list. Once he’d found out who Edward really was, he’d known there could be nothing more between them other than sex, but there was a part of his brain that liked to imagine unicorns farting rainbows.
Well, not exactly, but that was more probable than his being anything more than a fuck buddy to Edward Chivington.
“Do you mind me asking you something?”
“Depends on what it is,” said Edward with a smile.
“Do you think you would ever come out?”
“I want to. It was just impossible when my dad was still alive. He tried to keep me away from any influences he thought were wrong. I had to go to university in London, or he wouldn’t support me financially.
Then, when I was a trainee solicitor, I couldn’t afford to move out.
By the time I got a place of my own, the closet was the only place I knew. ”
“How long has he been gone?”
“A year.”
“So why not come out now?”
“It’s . . . complicated.”
“Because you’re going to be prime minister soon?”