When it was almost fully off, Kit stuck his tongue in his cheek and kicked the sock off with aplomb. It landed like a bullseye into Quin’s mug.
“I didn’t mean to do that!” Kit said, slapping a hand over his mouth.
Quin looked down at the mug, now complete with half-submerged sock. “I’m not drinking your toe tea,” he said quietly.
Kit giggled. Full-on giggled, and the sound was delightful. “Well, at least that answers one question.”
“Which question?”
“Whether you have a foot fetish. If you did, you’d have guzzled that right up.” Kit tried to keep a straight face for all of a second, but his eyes were shining with humour and he shook with silent laughter.
“I demand a replacement,” Quin said, pointing to the mug. “And I’ll be leaving a scathing review of the place, just so you know. Terrible service all around.”
They shared an amused look, and Quin felt like he might have melted Kit’s frosty exterior.
All it took was a few cups of tea and a faked foot fetish.
ELEVEN
Kit
Other than servingQuin a type of tea he’d hated at first, the night had gone better than Kit hoped. He’d enjoyed doing the tea taster menu. It wasn’t often that he was around anyone eating and drinking actual food, so he’d taken an odd satisfaction in watching Quin dunking each of his biscuits before gobbling them up.
As he cleaned the mugs out in the sink, Kit wondered if he’d get the chance to cook a meal for Quin on day. He’d never really done it before, but it couldn’t be that hard.
“It’s time I headed off,” Quin said, coming back from the bathroom. No wonder he’d gone twice already, given the sheer amount of tea he’d drunk.
Kit finished drying his hands on the towel beside the sink. “Okay,” he agreed. It was rather late, and Quin needed to get back to Mabel, Kit reasoned. Not that Quin was running away; he was just giving Kit space—a good thing.
Except, the sight of Quin getting his coat and pulling on his boots pushed Kit off balance. He leaned against the wall as he wondered what to say. Did he invite Quin over again? Did he wait for Quin to suggest something? Kit didn’t know how peopledid this. He liked Quin; he’d admit that much. But putting himself out there terrified him.
“Thanks for a great night,” Quin said, hovering close to the door.
“Anytime,” Kit said.
“Yeah?” Quin gave him a cheeky grin. “So I can pop around for a cuppa whenever I want now?”
Kit considered it. “Nobody else is going to drink the tea. And the biscuits will go soft if you don’t eat them. In the interest of ensuring they don’t go to waste, then I suppose you’ll have to come over again.”
“Ah, yes. The environmental impact of a few Hobnobs going off will be what melts the rest of the polar ice caps.”
“It’s a genuine worry!” Kit protested. “I’m going to be on this planet for a long time. I’d like not to be living underwater with the mer, thank you very much.”
“Not into the partial fish thing?”
Kit made a face. “Don’t even make me think about how that all works.”
“Well, nowI’mimagining it.” Quin let himself out of Kit’s front door, then stood on the stoop with a contemplative look on his face.
“You really are thinking about mer anatomy, aren’t you?” Kit said.
Quin shook his head. “No. I was thinking about something else.”
“Fancy sharing?”
“I’m going to say it.” Quin took a deep breath, like he was steadying himself. “Can I kiss you?”
The words took a few seconds to sink in as Kit blinked up uncomprehendingly at Quin. Even when Kit thought he understood, he couldn’t quite believe his own ears. “What?” he squeaked.
