Chapter 44
William
There were footsteps on the stairs, and Petey’s face appeared. He was stunning. Freshly showered, hair still damp, in tiny black boxer briefs.
“Aw, those aren’t Daisy Dukes.”
“I’m not ruining my only pair of jeans so you can live out your teenage fantasy.”
“It’s a very adult fantasy.”
“I bet. Sometimes I forget you’re bisexual.”
“Who said I’m bisexual?” We both knew the answer.
“Aren’t you?”
I shook my head. “I’m Petey-sexual.”
He smiled, and I held my arms out. He climbed onto the mattress and collapsed back into me.
I wrapped him up in a hug, rolling onto him and smothering him—showering him in kisses.
It was true. “Petey” was as much definition as my sexuality would ever need.
I loved him so much my body ached. So the fact we only had another week or so left together before he would have to return to London had started haunting my thoughts like a spectre.
I tried to shake it off, not wanting Petey to sense anything was wrong.
“Can I say,” I said, “your gran is magnificent.”
Petey smiled. “She’s my favourite person in the whole world.”
“I know. But, I mean, I’ve literally never known anyone to beat Mum at Scrabble, and your gran did it three times on the hoof. It was spectacular.”
“Your mum took it well, I thought.”
“There were twice as many tiles on the board as there should be by the end of that last game. How on earth did Peggy win?”
“Oh, she cheated.”
“No way!”
“I gave Gran the heads-up, so she volunteered to score. She’s a maths whizz. Kept adding percentages onto her score when your mum wasn’t looking.”
“She out-cheated Bunny Winters? Incredible.” I kissed my way around Petey’s neck. “I can see where you get your smarts from.”
Petey smiled. It was beautiful. I smooched my way across his body. With everything going on, it had felt good to bask in the simple pleasure of family. But even better to be alone and basking in the pleasures of Petey.
“You did great today,” Petey said. “I’m very proud of you.”
Pride burst from my chest like that alien in, well, Alien.
“Thank you.”
“I can’t believe my gran is here,” he said. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“I do.” For a split second, I toyed with asking him to ask his father about getting that superinjunction Sunny told us about.
Then at least the press would be off our backs and I could breathe a little easier.
But it would have meant a fight, and that would have ruined an amazing day.
Instead, I slipped my hand under the pillow and pulled out the filthy note Petey had left in my father’s desk drawer. “I thought we could start here.”
Petey smiled, his fingers reaching up to curl around the piece of paper. “You want to start there? We’re growing in confidence, aren’t we?” His legs wound around my back, and I grabbed his waist, pulling him tight against me. “How about we build up to it,” he said, his mouth hot against mine.
“Could do,” I said, the fabric of my boxers sliding against his hardness. I wormed my hand inside the elastic of his briefs and tugged them down. “But a promise is a promise. We keep our word in this house.”
Petey’s laugh turned into a gasp as I kissed my way down his body—and then we didn’t need any more words at all. But even as I wrapped myself around him, held him, filled him, loved him, the spectre was there.