“I work a lot, Nain. 12 hours a day in the week and then sometimes the weekend too. Who am I going to find to tolerate that kind of work? And if I do, when are they going to find time to take me on a date?” I didn’t want to explain that the closest I had gotten to a date in the last year had been when a guy offered me coffee at his place before we went to the bedroom. I couldn’t remember the last time I chatted to someone for hours before sex. If that was even what Llywelyn wanted. Or I did.
“Just relax, the man likes you. Enjoy the conversation and the food.”
“Food? Where is he taking me?”
“There are only two possible places, nowhere too fancy. You’ll find out when he gets here in…about five minutes time. Never late, that one.” Nain nodded to herself and once again tried to watch television around me. “You’d make an excellent door, James. But a terrible window.”
“Thanks Nain. I really appreciate it. But if you could-” the doorbell rang before I could finish. “Shit!” I threw the cream jumper on over my head. “How do I look?”
“As gorgeous as always.” Nain looked me up and down with pride. “Let’s get you to the ball, Cinderella.”
From the hallway I could see Llywelyn silhouetted in the light of Nain’s porch. She opened the door before I could get to it.Damn, he’s gorgeous.
Llywelyn had obviously put a bit of time into trimming his beard and taming the curls on his head. The usual beanie was gone and he wore a freshly ironed white shirt. His jeans,usually covered with paint splatters and a little bit messy, were clean and pressed. I wanted to jump him right then and there.Husband material,my mind supplied. I only had three more days before I would be back in London, and I would take every second I could.
6
Chapter Six
Llywelyn
“How do I look?” I asked Tudor, who stood behind the bar cleaning glasses.
“Fine,” he said. “For the seventh time tonight.”
I hesitated. Had I really asked that many times? But then Tudor smirked, and I flicked a bit of beer foam on the bar just to piss him off. “One more pint of liquid courage?” he asked and nodded at my half-full glass.
“No, I’m keeping a clear head. Don’t want to mess this up. Not under any circumstances.”
“Hoping to get lucky, are we?” Tudor smirked again, and I shook my head without keeping eye contact. Once upon a time, people had thought he and I would make a good couple - perhaps because we were the only two openly gay 16 year olds in town and because we were best friends. But he was too much like me, and I was not my own type.
“How’s business?” I asked. Tudor ran the only hotel in town, a beautiful old manor that was starting to fall more and more into disrepair as it saw no new visitors.
Tudor shook his head. “Not so good, Llyw.” He put one of the glasses back on the shelf. “No one visits little villages with no train link and nothing special in them to differentiate them. If you want the sea, you’ve got the whole coastline of Wales. Who’d want to visit here?”
His words hit a bit of a nerve. I’d been feeling that way with James. I was a reflection of this town. I’d never wanted to move out, never looked beyond it. There was so little special about this place that he’d avoided it for almost twenty years. Would he avoid it for another twenty when he was done?
“Penny for your thoughts?” Tudor took the pint glass which I hadn’t realised I had finished, and washed it. It seemed to be a compulsion, now I thought of it. He had washed at least twenty glasses since I’d come in and I was the only customer.
“Just…feeling inadequate, is all.” I scratched at a little spot on the bar before continuing. “Why didn’t I ever want to get out of here, see the world? Study past 16, gain a trade?”
“I don’t know, Llyw. I wish I could help you there, but I’m the same. I wish I could leave this old place to rot. But Mam would never forgive me, and the hotel is still ours to pay for whether we look after it or not.” Tudor looked sombre for a second. “Hey, aren’t you meant to be meeting lover-boy in five minutes?”
“Shit.” I grabbed my coat from the back of the chair and threw a five pound note at the bar. “I’ll see you later!”
I ran from the bar, through the little lobby and out of the door. The hotel was up a steep hill from the rest of the village and that helped as I basically threw myself down it to get to Glynis’ place on time. I was never late for anything, and I wasn’t going to be late to this. Whatever this was.
I made it to Glynis’ house with a couple of minutes to spare. I let my breathing calm down for a second and knocked the door as gently as I could. I saw my reflection in the glass of the door and did my best to flatten my hair was I saw shadows approach.
Glynis opened the door and looked me up and down in a way she never had before. She judged everyone, of course - she thrived on gossip and drama — but I had never seen her look at me like she wanted to dissect me.
“You look after him now Llywelyn,” she said.
“O-of course,” I stuttered. I didn’t want to get on her bad side, but most importantly, I knew I had to look after the man stood behind her. He wore one of the knitted jumpers I’d started to associate with him since I first saw Glynis picking them out for him in the charity shop, and his hair was ruffled, but not as wind-blown as when I’d first met him. I wanted to mess it up even more. He was holding my coat in one hand.
“Hi,” he said quietly. The tension was thick in the air, and it seemed like neither of us knew how to talk any more after the kiss. Now we knew we both wanted more.
“Hello,” I said. Glynis looked between the two of us like she was watching the world’s slowest and most boring tennis match.
