Page 5 of Painting Ghosts

I groaned. “Don’t remind me. I was sick for days after that night. Although I do remember the cute Greek waiter in the hotel who tried to pick me up and take me back to his room.” I smiled at the memory. “He wasn’t so keen on me when I was sick all over his shoes.”

Theo was silent. I flicked my finger against his cheek. “Earth to Theo. You fallen asleep?”

Theo shook his head slowly. “No, just thinking.” He smiled, but it wasn’t his usual one. “So, how’s your dating life right now? Seeing anyone? Last time I saw you, you had a thing going with that guy, Martin, or Marty.”

A current of cold air brushed against my back, and I shivered. I reached out and grabbed my jacket, pulling it over my shoulders. “Marty is no more. He and I parted ways weeks ago. Probably not long after I saw you last. We had a bit of an argument, and he left.”

Theo’s body stilled. “I didn’t know that.”

I shrugged. “You were in Devon, painting that house on top of the cliffs, and then you went to Scotland to do that castle. We haven’t had much time to catch up until now.”

“What happened between you two that he left?” Theo took another sip of his drink, eyes watchful.

“Oh nothing much,” I said drily. “He wanted me to do shrooms, and I didn’t. He got all snappy, told me I was a wuss and tried to force-feed me the bloody things.”

Theo shot up like an avenging angel. “He fucking did what?” His handsome face creased in anger.

I patted his back soothingly. I knew my friend would go postal, and I’d been ready for him. “There, there, don’t fuss, I fought back. I whacked him with my bike helmet, and he soon backed off. Then I shoved him out the door without his pants.” I sniggered. “I threw them out the bedroom window into a great puddle of rain and dog shit from next door’s Labrador.”

My flat was on the second floor in a charming six flat block a few miles from here.

“He didn’t have his pants on?” Theo’s face darkened.

“Well, no,” I muttered. “We’d kind of been getting ready to, you know. He thought he’d fuck me while I was on shrooms but that was a level of control I wasn’t going to allow.”

Theo made a strangled sound. “He wanted to get you high then have sex with you? That bastard. How fucking dare he disrespect you like that. Where does this fucker live?”

The glow that suffused my body at Theo’s outrage on my behalf prickled me with both warmth and a sense of smugness. It was endearing to know my bestie had my back. In fact, his behaviour made me think perhaps it might be more than friendship. A boy could dream, couldn’t he?

“I’m not giving you his address.” I laid down on the sleeping bag and closed my eyes. “I’m not stupid. It’s over, so let it go.”

“Huh.” Theo laid down beside me, his hands behind his head as he looked up at the flickering shadows on the high ceiling. “I’d better not see him in town. I’ll deck him one then kick him for good measure.”

“You are so violent,” I mumbled sleepily as my eyes grew heavy from the warmth of the fire and the half a bottle of wine I’d consumed. “Thank you for defending my honour.”

Warm fingers reached out and brushed my forehead tenderly. “Always. I look after what’s mine.”

Something soft, heavy, and fleecy floated down across my body, and I gave a satisfied sigh as I snuggled under the blanket. I took it for granted I’d be staying over tonight. Red wine and snow-packed roads were not for the faint-hearted or the comfortably plastered.

“Good,” I snuffled as things turned slower and darker. “I like being yours.”

****

Something was tickling my foot. I flicked it drowsily, and the tickling stopped. I’d just gone back to the dream where Theo and I were making out in my car when it started again. This time I shoved my foot out angrily. “Stop it, you bastard. You know how sensitive my toes are.”

The warmth next to me stirred and a puzzled Theo said sleepily, “Ty? What’s wrong?”

I turned over, which was a bit of a feat because I seemed to have an arm around my waist and a blanket snaggled up under my bum. I faced Theo, all sleep woken and oh so damn cute as he blinked his chestnut brown eyes.

“You were tickling my foot,” I sputtered, my heartbeat quickening.

Goddamn, my morning wood was also making itself known. I moved myself a little further back from Theo’s muscular body. We seemed to have been spooning most of the night. My wildest dreams come true, of course. But I didn’t want anything friend-like. I wanted raunchy, sexy action with some hot kissing thrown in.

Had he fallen asleep beside me because we’d both been a little drunk? We’d done it before, but this time seemed...different. More intimate.

He frowned and stared down to the bottom of the sleeping bag. “It wasn’t me. Maybe you were dreaming.”

I sat up, wide awake now. Perhaps it was a damn spider or some sort of wild animal licking my foot to see how tasty I was. I’d seen those horror camping films.