Leaning into him, his scent mixing with the night air, I press my lips to his. “You’re so fucking incredible. I’m proud of you.”
Oliver smiles into the kiss, then pulls back and reaches for the empty container on my lap.
“Let’s take the long way back.” He pulls me to my feet and we stop at a bin, then walk alongside the harbour wall before turning left and passing a row of beach huts and a cafe that is closed for the day. To our right, the sea washes onto theshore, the sounds of the waves crashing, pebbles shifting, and the crunch of our feet on gravel is all that can be heard in the otherwise still night.
It takes us fifteen minutes to reach Darcey’s holiday house and by the time we do, my nose is cold and my splintered wrist is throbbing. Oliver opens the front door and I welcome the warmth that greets us, stopping to warm my hands on the radiator.
“Cold?” he asks, kissing my temple.
“Better now.”
Oliver moves through the place like he’s been here before, gathering up blankets and cushions which he throws onto the sofa before sitting down, the remote in his hand. He pats the spot next to him and I toe off my shoes and join him, my body sinking into the soft cushions. He adjusts a blanket over the two of us before kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.
Remote in hand, Oliver scrolls through the streaming services, before settling on a newly released true crime show.
“Have you seen this one yet?” he asks.
“No. I…uh…” There’s a space between us, and Oliver shifts into it, his arm coming around my shoulder and squeezing me closer as I struggle to articulate just how sad I was after we broke up. How even the things that used to bring me joy stopped making me feel anything. “I haven’t watched since…I couldn’t because I wanted…”
Oliver nuzzles his nose against my ear, breathing me in. The air caressing my skin is warm, causing goosebumps to break out over my body.
“You’ll like this one.”
I pull back, looking at him with wide eyes. “You watched it?” He nods. “Why?”
“Because I missed you. I missed you so damn much that I tortured myself with shitty crime shows.” He smiles and I can’t help but return it.
“I missed you too. So fucking much.” I kiss him – something I plan to do plenty of this weekend because who knows when or if I’ll get the chance again. Turning my body, so I’m leaning into him, I let my hand wander up his thigh. He moans into my mouth when I palm his erection through his jeans.
When we finally break apart to catch our breaths, my chest is heaving and my cock is pressing thickly against my underwear. Oliver’s eyes are dark, his lips spit-slicked and he’s breathing just as heavily.
“Ollie,” I whisper, not knowing what I’m asking for. I wanteverything. I want him to kiss me and to fuck me. And I want to watch tv and cuddle and talk. And I want to walk on the beach and laugh and then drag him home and sink to my knees and –
“Stop thinking so hard, baby,” Oliver says with a kiss to my forehead before he gently pushes me against the sofa. “We’re going to watch this show and then go to bed. Together. I need to hold you all night.” He adjusts me so my head is on his chest, his hand carding through my hair. Then he presses play and the show starts. These have always been our moments. The quiet ones where gentle touches speak more than words and the knowledge that we’re not alone – that we have each other – wraps us in protective armour.
“Do you think we’ll ever get this back for good?” I ask into the quiet of the room.
Oliver hums, kissing the top of my head.
“I hope so.”
Chapter 31
Oliver
“What if we ran away?” I whisper, my lips hovering over the skin on the back of Darius’s neck.
He rubs his face against the pillow, his voice thick with sleep when he responds.
“Hmm, where would we go?”
My hand glides over the smooth skin at his ribs, trailing along his stomach and stopping at the waistband of the tiny yellow shorts he wore to bed.
“Somewhere that is always sunny. Where we could lie on the beach whenever we wanted.” I have one arm beneath his body, and I use it to drag him closer, so that his back is to my chest. I bite my way down his neck, careful not to leave marks, and he wriggles in my hold, pressing his ass into my morning wood.
“And what would we do for work?”
My hand dips lower, fingers delving beneath the fabric of his shorts. I run my fingers through the patch of pubic hair,exploring further down before wrapping my hand around his cock. Darius groans, hips moving to push into my hold.
