We’re still at the same booth, but the circle’s thinned. Jamie’s long gone, muttering something about protein and priorities. Scottie ducked out halfway through and never came back. Now it’s just me, Theo, Brodie, and Charlie. She’s perched sideways, back against the wall, one boot on the seat. Theo’s curled beside me, half-leaning, eyes soft with the fatigue that comes after too much noise.
Next to Charlie, Brodie lounges with one arm draped along the back of their bench, fingers absentmindedly tracing slow circles against her jacket. He’s relaxed in that way only people in love seem to master. He knows where he belongs. Charlie leans into it. Doesn’t even seem to notice she’s doing it. I do. And I’m not proud of the thought that hits me next. A quiet ache. That half-conscious yearning for something settled and real.
I want this with Theo.
We said we’d keep this thing going till May. Ride it out through the season and reassess. See where we stand. But I already know where I stand. Right fucking here. With her. Only, I’ve no idea if she’s standing anywhere near me. Or if she’s already half-packed, ready to bolt the second the clock runs out.
Charlie sips her gin and sets it down with exaggerated precision. Her lips are pressed together in a tight smile that keeps threatening to split into a wide grin.
She can’t be pregnant, she’s drinking gin. So that’s not it.
‘I’ve got news. Big news,’ she finally admits. ‘Can’t say yet. Don’t want to tempt fate. Let’s just say all this relationship spin might’ve worked better than planned. A lot better.’
Theo narrows her eyes. ‘Better how?’
‘Oh, you’ll see.’ Charlie smile gets broader.
I tip my chair slightly. ‘That’s ominous.’
‘No. It’s promising,’ she says. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in as soon as the timing’s right.’
‘You’re such a tease,’ Theo says dryly.
Charlie shrugs, but she’s clearly fit to burst. ‘I’m only saying that your public snogs might’ve tipped things in our favour. That’s all.’
I stare Theo down like she’s the one who invented kissing. ‘We are extremely snog-forward. That’s not a bad thing.’
Charlie twists her glass slowly between her fingers, still grinning. ‘It’s not. Not at all.’
Brodie leans back, his arm behind her. ‘You done being cryptic, or should we get a translator?’
‘Dance with me, and I might cave.’ She nudges him with her knee.
He sighs, stands, and holds out a hand. ‘Awright, Champ. But only because I don’t want to hear Finn try to be seductive again.’
They disappear toward a slow song coming through the speakers. Something with a saxophone and too much reverb.
Theo watches them go and lets out a yawn that stretches through her whole body. ‘I need my bed.’
‘Is that code for “Please eat my pussy again, Finn, please please please”?’
‘That’s not how I sound.’ Her laugh’s low and throaty. ‘But now I’m reconsidering my definition of tired.’
I drag my nose along the curve of her ear, catching the sweet scent of her skin. ‘Your boiler’s still being a temperamental bastard, aye? My place is two minutes from here. Come crash at mine. I’ll heat you up properly.’
She eyes me, weighing it. ‘But I have to check on Elvis early tomorrow morning. He’s got heaps of food and three hot water bottles, but…’
‘…he’s your spoilt little prince of hell,’ I finish. ‘Nae bother. We’ll set an alarm. You can ride my face first thing, then feed your cat. Two pussies, one happy morning.’
‘If there’s one thing I’ll be begging for, Lennox,’ she says with that sparkle in her eyes, ‘it’s that you stop making group sex jokes.’
Chapter 19
Theo
I wake up with my face mushed into warm skin, my arm flung across a broad chest. My leg is hooked over his, my body wrapped around him like he’s an extra-large human comfort pillow.
The disorientation lasts precisely three seconds.
