“I was freezing my tits off and feeling like death.” She paused, taking a sip from her mug before glancing mischievously at me. “I bet you had no trouble sleeping last night though.”
“How’d you mean?” I played dumb, knowing exactly what she was getting at. I averted my eyes uncomfortably.
“He woke me up when he was leaving.” Louise smiled knowingly. “I think he was a bit shocked to see me sleeping out here.”
Before I could say anything in reply, I was cut off by someone emerging from the kitchen.
“Morning Max,” Becca chirped happily. “Finally joined the land of the living, I see.”
I grinned at her. She was also wearing a large hoodie and some pyjama bottoms that were at least two foot too long for her legs. Oliver’s, I guessed.
“You’re looking fresh for someone who was so drunk last night.” I teased. “How’re you feeling?”
“Well, earlier this morning I wanted to die, but I feel fine now. A bit of tea and some toast sorted me out.” She smiled. I shifted along the sofa to make room for Becca to sit beside me. “How was your night? I don’t remember a lot of it, so you’ll have to fill me in.”
I suddenly felt uncomfortable, reluctant to reveal too many details. Usually, I had no problem talking about this kind of thing with Becca, especially as she already knew what had been going on. “I don’t remember a lot either.” I lied.
“Rowan was still here this morning,” Louise interjected. “So, I’m guessing some part of the night must have gone well.”
Becca’s eyes widened and she squealed, giving me a huge grin. I smiled back uncomfortably “Did you guys, y’know?” she whispered, raising her eyebrows.
“How’s your ass feeling this morning?” Louise asked bluntly with a loud laugh.
I scowled at her. “Fuck off, I’m fine.”
“You probably didn’t have sex with him then.” Louise snorted and started giggling. “Unless he’s like...” She trailed off, raising a pinkie finger. Becca burst out laughing too.
“He isn’t,” I replied without thinking, feeling a sudden urge to protect Rowan’s dignity. Both girls turned to look at me, eyes wide, and I immediately wished I hadn’t said anything.
“Now youhaveto tell.” Becca grinned. “You can’t just say something like that and then not fill us in.”
“Spill Max.” Louise ordered.
I sighed heavily. “Nothing really happened.”
“If nothing happened, you wouldn’t know how big his cock is,” Becca scoffed.
I grimaced at her with a laugh and heaved myself up from the sofa to get a cup of tea. “I’m not telling either of you anything.”
“Goodness,” Becca sighed. “Do you think he knows he’s gay or is he just a bit confused?”
“I don’t know Becca, I—”
“Wait – you guys think Rowan doesn’t know he’s gay?” Louise interrupted. Both Becca and I looked at her. “There is no way on this earth Rowan could look at Max the way he does and be uncertain about how he feels. No way,” she stated plainly.
“But what about the wife and daughter?” Becca asked quietly.
“Well, Max, you said he has a kid that’s seventeen, right?” Louise turned to me.
“Yeah – Teegan.” I nodded.
“So, he was only, what, seventeen when she was born? That’s really, really young. Doesn’t it kind of smack of someone who’s made a mistake and has married to do ‘the right thing’?”
“I’d never thought of it that way,” I stammered.
“That makes a lot of sense,” Becca replied, nodding. “I was talking to Trisha about Rowan the other week. One of Trisha’s friends is close with Rowan’s wife. She was saying how Christina told her that their marriage is totally hollow. Like they’re just two people living in the same house – there’s nothing more there.”
“That’s so sad,” Louise sighed.
