Aidan
“There’s a boy waiting outside for you.”
I follow Doreen’s gaze out of the window and smile. Ludo is tightrope walking along the kerb outside, Bella at his feet, a shopping bag slung over his shoulder. I take that to mean he’s cooking, which is fine by me. I’ve been in the office since six this morning and I spent my lunch break figuring out if my leg is strong enough to climb again.
News flash: it’s not, and I’m pissed off, tired, and sore as fuck. Ludo’s shower is better than mine. If he’s game for a night at his place, I can’t wait to wash the day away and pass out in his actual real-life bed.
After some other stuff, of course.
“So?”
“Hmm?”
Doreen nudges me. For some reason, she’s decided that shit is okay. “Is he waiting for you? He’s been there a while.”
“If you don’t know if he’s waiting for me, why did you say he was?”
“Because I’ve seen you in the supermarket with him. I wondered if he was your boyfriend.”
I give her the coldest look I can muster for a woman who makes me six cups of tea a day and makes extra cheese baps just for me. “How is that any of your business?”
Doreen flushes. “It isn’t. I just thought... never mind. You’re right. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She backs off and returns to her desk, leaving me torn between making things right and getting to Ludo as quickly as humanly possible. The conflict is real, and the ache in my chest tears me apart as I stomp over to Doreen’s desk.
“Sorry for snapping. I didn’t mean to be so rude.”
She eyes me over her glasses. “That’s okay. You just surprised me. Bernard warned us that you were a grumpy bugger, but you’ve been lovely since you started. I wondered if it was because you had a nice fella.”
“It could be because Bernard’s the grumpy bugger, not me.”
“True, but it takes one to know one, dear.”
She’s got me there, and I can’t deny that her theory is spot on. Ludohaschased away my dickhead tendencies. Besides, why waste energy on other people when I can expend it on him?
The thought has me hot all over. I bid Doreen goodbye without confirming her suspicions and leave the office. My phone rings as I descend the steps. It’s Michael, but I don’t have time for him right now. I cut him off, slip my phone in my pocket, and glance up to find Ludo watching me, gaze sharp, tracking my every step until I’m right in front of him.
I cuff his shoulder. “All right?”
A beat so minute I wonder if I’ve imagined it passes between us. Ludo’s eyes dart to my pocket and back again. “Yup. You?”
His voice carries an edge. I tilt my head sideways, but he’s already walking.
I hurry after him. “What’s in the bag?”
“Rice. I made some meatballs earlier, but I thought you might be sick of pasta.”
“I’m not, but rice sounds good.”
“I got some chocolate too.”
“Even better.” I nudge him and keep nudging him until he looks at me. “You know what I like, right?”
A ghost of a smile lights his face. “I’d hope so by now.”
More heat floods me. We haven’t fucked... yet, but we’ve spent a lot of time working up to it. By now I reckon he can set me on fire just by looking at me. I don’t know how I’ve managed to get any sleep these last couple of weeks. Not since our slumber parties went nuclear.
And it’s every day now. When we first started hanging out at each other’s places, Ludo would often step back for a day or so, cool things for reasons I never asked him to explain, but he’s different now. He doesn’t seem to want to spend a moment apart, and I’m okay with that.
