“Valentine’s Day?”
Noah grinned. “I’d forgotten. Are we doing something? I’m playing in Manchester so why don’t I come to you?”
“Sounds good. I’ll come up with a plan.”
Carmine winked at him.
“Sleep,” Carmine said.
They settled. Before long Noah’s head became heavy. Sleep evaded Carmine. He kissed the top of Noah’s head.
The evening had been a total success. He’d expected Ashley to be more terrifying than she was. He was painfully aware that they had such a lot in common because only a few years separated them in age. Thankfully that hadn’t come up. No doubt Ashley would have an opinion on that as well.
Carmine closed his eyes. He really needed to stop stressing about every detail. This felt right. The notion of not having Noah in his life now was unbearable.
Then his parents flashed up in his mind. To lose them would be more than he could handle. He should have known this would come up when he returned to the UK. He should do it on his own terms.
He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to claim him. He was safe for now.
The next day in the office, he couldn’t stop yawning.
“Just because you have a sex life, you don’t have to flaunt it,” Samantha said without looking up from her screen.
“For your information we didn’t have sex last night,” Carmine replied.
Truth be told, he’d barely slept. Noah had been so peaceful that Carmine had stayed stock-still. His back ached like crazy as a result.
“It was nice that Noah invited you,” Samantha said.
It had been a wonderful gesture. Neither of them had been very good at inviting the other into their lives. Living in a bubble together had suited Carmine. It wouldn’t last much longer though. So many forces were conspiring to pop it.
“True,” Carmine replied. “I suppose it’s my turn now.”
Now Samantha did give him her full attention.
“How are you going to do that?”
Carmine shrugged. “I’ve no bloody idea. I’ll think of something.”
She shook her head. “It’s not a competition. If you’re not ready, that’s fine.”
Now Carmine had tasted them developing their relationship, he wanted more. Deep down, he knew the ultimate move from Noah would be introducing him to Malcolm. Yet he couldn’t possibly broach that when he hadn’t even told his family he was gay. Let alone dating a Premier League footballer.
“It’s not all that easy for me, is it?”
“Like I said, you go at your own pace. Is Noah pressuring you?”
“Not at all. He did talk to Ashley about it though.”
Samantha narrowed her eyes. “She shouldn’t have told you that. I’m not sure about her.”
“She’s protective. I get it.”
Samantha fiddled with a pen. He decided not to attack her for telling him off when he fidgeted.
“You’re living on borrowed time,” she said. “The media will get hold of this soon.”
Carmine shuddered. He’d become addicted to reading news reports of Udo and Steven’s affair from last year. The coverage had been brutal at first. Thankfully things had calmed down.
