Kieran stares at me, watching me come undone. His cheeks are pink, skin shiny with sweat. “Just like that,” he murmurs.
“Kieran,” I say, unable to stop myself. The pressure builds. “Kieran, I’m — ”
The pressure explodes into a shot of hot pleasure, and I fall forward, my forehead resting against his shoulder. A moment later, he comes against me, muffling a groan.
We remain there for a minute, catching our breaths. I untangle myself from him and clean up in the bathroom, then throw a damp hand towel at him.
Languidly, he wipes himself up, then lies down. I crawl into the bed beside him and let sleep take me.
13
Kieran: Proposition
Like yesterday, the room is empty when I wake up. The sheets smell like Jasper and sex.
I have a short cold shower, during which the water hits me like a million tiny ice bullets. I don’t think about last night.
Like yesterday, I find Jasper and Senior in the dining room. Like yesterday, Jasper avoids eye contact with me. Unlike yesterday, Senior suggests spending our last day skiing together.
We start with the simple routes, and Senior compliments my skiing. Then we do some more difficult trails, and stop for an early lunch of toasted sandwiches.
We finish skiing earlier than usual, at 2 o’clock, so we have enough time to pack up, check out and return my ski gear before leaving the resort.
When we walk out to the carpark, I feel sad to leave. The holiday was a lot better than I expected — and not just because of what Jasper and I got up to at night. I improved a lot in skiing and only fell over twice today. It’s a pity because I won’t be able to ski for a while, unless I win the lottery or something.
Jasper takes the passenger seat, and I sit in the back, staring at the skeletal trees and blue-tinged mountains in the distance. Jasper has a novel for English class in his lap, but he also watches the scenery as the car goes down the mountain. A petal of hair sticks out behind his ear.
Maybe I shouldn’t have slept with him. This is Jasper Harvey, after all, the same person who looks at me like I’m dirt. The same person who, minutes before we had sex that first time, threw a phone at my face.
Neither of us talked about it yesterday, so I figured it was a one-time thing. It was better that way. But as soon as Jasper stepped into the room after dinner, all my willpower sapped away.
I was on the couch, and he was getting pissed, as if I was wasting time when we could have been getting naked. That showed me how much he wanted it —
I rub a hand over my face. I’d forgotten how nice it was to touch someone else like that, and Jasper had been so enthusiastic…
So it was hot sex, sure. That doesn’t mean it needs to happen again.
*
It’s night when we return to Easton. We drop Jasper off first, and at Senior’s, I shower before collapsing in bed and falling asleep.
The next morning, someone calling my phone wakes me up.
“Hello?” I mumble, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
“Kieran! How are you? How was your holiday? Senior told me you came back last night. He sent me some photos — they look great! Wait, I’ll send through my favourite one.”
Dad goes quiet and I stretch my arms out above my head. The sun streaming through the part in my curtains is blinding white. I’ve slept in.
“There, I’ve sent it,” Dad says, a laugh in his voice.
I check my messages, and tap on the photo. It’s one Senior took of Jasper and I standing behind the snowman. We have our arms lightly around the other, like skin contact is painful. My lips are twisted, and Jasper’s grimacing.
“Oh,” I say.
Dad laughs.
“Why did he send you that one? We have one where we’re smiling.”
