“Nah, it’s nice,” Danny said, shuffling across the bed towards me. “Sorry your parents were dickheads.”
“Thanks, doesn’t sound like your dad was much better.”
“Probably not, but it’s not like I have to talk to him now. If I need to know anything, my grandad tells me. But he doesn’t tell my dad shit. Which I think he loves, ’cos my grandad is propernosy and wants to know everything about everyone, but he also doesn’t want anyone else to know what he knows.” He snorted and laughed fondly. “He’s like the Wikipedia of West Close.”
I chuckled and watched as he stretched out, his head buried in the pillows. He looked softer like this, like the brash, mouthy edge he usually wore wasn’t necessary. Comfortable, that was probably the best word for it. I put my hand out, my fingers gently resting on his thigh. “How’re you feeling?”
“I dunno, a bit tired. Definitely think I might be gay, but also trying not to be, like, weirded out by that because I kinda already knew.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay,” I said, gently squeezing his thigh. “Promise me one thing, though?”
“Depends what it is.”
“If you start freaking out or feeling anxious or thinking that you’re, I don’t know, fucked up or going to hell or whatever, come and talk to me. No judgement, I promise.”
“Okay.” He nodded, his smile fading for a second. Then it returned as he wiggled closer to me, still completely naked from the waist down. He had such a nice-looking dick, I really wanted to touch it. “You say no judgement a lot, but I bet you’re really fucking judgy, aren’t you?”
I laughed, my fingers tracing random lines across his thigh. “What makes you say that?”
“Please, like it’s obvious as fuck.” He swung his leg across mine and climbed into my lap, grinning down at me as his eyes danced with mischief. “Tell me something!”
“Tell you what, puppy?” I asked, lightly wrapping my arms around his waist.
“I don’t know. Anything. Something you judge people for. Oh, tell me what you think of people on the team! You have to film all of us for content and shit. You must have opinions.”
“What if I don’t want to tell you? They are your teammates.”
“So? I have opinions about them too. Like, Charlie is my best mate and I love him, but he’s messy as fuck and loves walking around hotel rooms naked, and I judge the shit out of him for that. Also, there is clearly shit going on with Hunter and Bailey that they’re not talking about, even though I know they totally took Jonny’s little brother home with them when we went out last Christmas. And after the barbecue they had in June. I’m not judging them for the three-way or anything, Aiden’s hot, but like Jonny is gonna fucking kill them when he finds out. Oh, Devon is a wine snob—like picky as fuck—and, like, wine is wine, so who cares?”
“I have to agree with him on that,” I said. “Cheap wine is like drinking paint stripper, as is drinking cheap vodka. They’re good if you’re eighteen and want to get blackout drunk before you go out, but if you want something nice to enjoy, then no, a three ninety-nine bottle of luminous pink rosé is not it, and neither is the six quid bottle of bargain-basement vodka.”
“Oh my God, you’re such a fucking snob,” he said with a laugh, running his hand through his mullet, which had flopped wildly out of shape. “Can you, like, tell the difference between brands?”
“Obviously.”
“You better not look in my kitchen then. You’ll think I’m a proper cheap bastard.”
“Good thing I brought a bottle with me. Although you’re not having any until after we’re done. I want you with a clear head.”
Danny pouted, and up close I noticed it made the ends of his moustache stick out slightly. “But what if I want some?”
“Tough. If you want to drink, then that’s fine but it means we’re done having sex for tonight.”
“I’m not a lightweight. I can hold my booze. One glass won’t make a difference.”
“It will to me,” I said. “I’m not fucking around, Danny. I want you to know exactly what we’re doing. And I don’t want you to feel like you need booze to do this shit. If you need to get drunk for us to fuck, then we’re not doing it. I’m not even gonna kiss you.”
“Fine, but when will you believe me when I say I’m fine?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not tonight.” I sighed, wishing I could put him down and run away from this conversation. I didn’t want to have to explain why I had trust issues, because I had better things on my agenda than exploring the breakdown of my marriage with the cute boy currently sitting in my lap.
But Danny just gave me a long look and then shrugged. “All right. But you have to tell me when you change your mind. Same as I have to tell you if I’m freaking out.” He leant in and nudged his nose playfully against mine, his moustache hair tickling my skin. “Now can we please stop talking and do more fun shit? I’ve only had one orgasm.”
“I haven’t even had one. Don’t you think we should even the score?”
