Page 15 of Unexpected Boyfriends

Chapter 05

First Moves

JUSTIN

Ping. A message hits my phone.

I’m here.

Axel is outside.

I drop everything and rush to greet him, slowing only as I open the door, because I don’t want to look too keen. When I do saunter outside, I get a massive surprise. He’s sitting astride a serious ass motorbike, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. He looks hot as fuck. His phone is still in his hand, and he slips it back into his pocket as he dismounts.

“Hey,” he grins. He looks sexy and mischievous tonight. He tosses back his hair and combs his hand through it to get rid of the helmet hair and fixes me with a steady look from those intense brown eyes. My knees wobble a little and I lick my lips nervously as I try to hide my reaction to his sexy, masculine presence.

“Hey,” I manage weakly, though a big fat smile is starting to crease my face. I amreallyhappy to see him. And as he looksso positively delicious, it’s no wonder I have a stomach full of freaked out butterflies.

I’m not sure what’s appropriate here. A handshake? A hug? Or is that too much? I have no idea, so I do nothing, just stand there awkwardly. Axel solves the impasse by retrieving a couple of things from his backpack and showing them to me. He’s brought a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates.

“I brought these for your grandparents. I would have brought flowers, but …” he looks at his bike and shrugs.

“Right. Not practical. You didn’t need to bring anything though. It’s just dinner.”

“I don’t like to come empty-handed.”

I blink. Unscrambling my thoughts, I say, “My grandma loves chocolate. She’ll be thrilled.”

I lead the way into the house and my grandmother greets him warmly. As predicted, she’s happy to receive chocolates, though she politely scolds him.

"That's very sweet of you, Axel, but there was absolutely no need to bring anything."

"No worries, Mrs. Beecham. I don't like to come empty-handed."

"Well it's very kind of you, but don't do it next time, okay?"

"Sure thing."

Will there be a next time? I hope so. I cast a furtive glance towards him, but Axel doesn’t seem bothered by the suggestion.

Axel is the perfect guest. He waits until my grandmother is seated before starting to eat, compliments her cooking (and eats seconds), and maintains a steady conversation with mygrandparents. The topics are rather adult – politics and stock markets – and Axel seems to have opinions on both, whilst still being able to maintain a diplomatic conversation. The topics pretty much make my eyes glaze over, and when he sees this, Axel draws me into the conversation with a change of topic.

“How did your day go?” he asks me, when there’s a logical pause in the discussion of whether the local member of parliament is actually representing their constituency or their personal interests (I mean,who cares?).

My spoon scrapes the inside of my dessert bowl before I answer.

“Pretty good. Tried bodysurfing again today but wasn't the best, to be honest. So I went for a rock walk around the headland. Didn’t really do a whole lot, but it was fine. I’m happy just chilling anyway.”

“We can go to the beach another day and I’ll help you again with the bodysurfing, though you probably don't really need it anymore. Some days the waves are just off.”

I smile at him. “Thanks. That would be awesome.”

“You worked on your art today too,” my grandmother chips in.

“What sort of art do you do?” Axel looks interested.

I squirm in my seat and heat rises in my cheeks.

“Ah, just drawing and sometimes I paint,” I say awkwardly. “It’s nothing special. Just something to keep me busy.”

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