I couldn’t move if I tried right now, but especially when he wraps an arm around me and pulls me close so my head’s resting on his chest.
‘Can you stay?’ he asks.
I nod against his chest, words failing me as I catch my breath.
‘Aren’t you worried that the engineers you share your apartment with will know you’ve been gone all night?’
‘And?
‘Well, we aren’t exactly public, are we?’
‘How would they know who I’m spending the night with? And anyway, when we’re still going strong at the end of the season, or the beginning of next, I won’t care.’ We’ll have to doit the right way and talk to management before we do anything else, but that’s fine.
A zap of shock zings across his face and I realise he thought I was going to hide him away forever. Once we’ve been together a serious amount of time, and we’re stable and confident in our commitment, there’ll be no risk– or much less risk– in going public. I’m so proud to be dating him and I only wish I hadn’t let fear stand in the way of us having had this a couple months ago.
He leans in to kiss me. Tugging the comforter up over the both of us, he pulls away and opens an arm for me to snuggle in next to him and I have absolutely no objections to being the little spoon right now. Not when his thigh slips protectively over mine and holds me in place.
‘You’re so good, you know that, right?’ It might be dark, but I can see the conviction in his chocolate brown eyes.
‘Wow, one night with me and he turns into a sap. What have I done to Johannes Müller?’
‘Hey.’ He swats my ass. I’m sure it’s meant to be a punishment, but I really do think I might have found my kink. ‘I’m trying to have a serious moment here. You make me feel like I’m worth it.’
I can’t imagine a world or any single reason why Johannes should or would have had to feel any other way, and if someone did make him feel this way, I’d like to kill them. There’s no one like him, not a single person I’ve ever met who cares the way he does. Who is so ready to look after you and make you feel like you can accomplish anything. I’ve watched him take Nils under his wing and show him the ropes– teach him how to be a winner.
‘That’s because you’re beyond worth it, Johannes. I hope I get to show you that every day that you’ll let me.’
‘You already do,’ he whispers into the darkness, before pressing a soft, final kiss to my lips. His head drops next to mine on the pillow we seem to be sharing tonight and with every single one of our limbs tangled together, I fall asleep happier than I can ever remember.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Johannes
‘What’s this?’ I ask, as a photo pings into my WhatsApp messages from Nils. We’re sitting together in the bar of our hotel in Singapore, scrolling on social media and making plans for our time here.
‘Open it and look,’ Nils replies before grabbing his beer bottle to take a swig.
The two weeks Caleb and I had off before flying to Singapore weren’t enough. Caleb was really busy with the team, and then Nils and I skied for five days, and then the second Caleb was free, my agent bulked out my schedule with sponsorship meetings and photoshoots and a bunch of charity work. None of it I was unhappy to do, but it meant Caleb and I couldn’t get away together like we planned. In the end, we managed a single night in my penthouse in London and that was it. One measly night that was never going to satisfy my desperate need to spend time with him. The next morning, we met Nils at an airstrip and the three of us boarded a private plane to Singapore.
It’s not something I do very often. Normally I’m more than happy to fly commercial, but I wanted to be able to relax with Caleb and not worry about fans on the plane or having to be less handsy with the cabin crew around. Nils was in London for the same shoot I was, so it was easier to just bring him with us.
I open the picture and there’s me and Caleb, fast asleep on the plane, trying our best to be wrapped up in each other. I want to be slightly perturbed that Nils was taking pictures of us while we were asleep, but it’s too cute to be annoyed at him for. We both look so content, our faces smushed into a shared pillow, blanket only half covering us because it was definitely only made for one person.
‘You’re welcome.’ Nils laughs, and I realise that I’ve been staring at the photo for way too long without saying anything.
‘I appreciate it, but I thought you were asleep for the whole flight?’
‘Eh, I got up to piss at some point and couldn’t help myself.’
Well, that’s a relief. We had checked he was sound asleep beforehand, but neither of us could resist getting a bit handsy on the plane. Not something I wanted Nils to hear or see, but I couldn’t stop myself.
‘Don’t worry, if you pair joined the mile high club I didn’t hear or see a thing.’
‘Joined,’ I scoff. ‘Kiddo, you don’t know me if you think that was the first time.’
‘Ewwww! You did get off while I was asleep right in front of you! I hate you.’ He fake-gags, but then he’s smiling and I know he’s happy that we’re happy.
I ruffle his hair, before returning to look at the photo, the beer I’m meant to be drinking with him forgotten about. Caleb and I look so right together, it’s actually ridiculous. I have no idea how we’re going to keep this hidden until the off season when we’ve decided we’ll speak to management about our relationship.
