Page 52 of The Photograph

“Next time.” And of course the joy of all this is that there’s going to be a next time.

“If I stayed, I’d have to find someone to cover for me. There’d be too many questions, Des. I’m sorry,” Alex says, mouth flat.

I pull a face then stretch up and kiss him, and his lips part as he shifts, climbing back over me and settling down between me and the back of the couch.

“It’s fine,” I say. “I know it’s difficult …”

“It’s not fine,” Alex interrupts, tracing my nipple with his finger. Goosebumps break out, and my skin goes tight as he leans forward. “I want to stay, Des.” Latching on to my chest, his tongue moves over the hard nub … and oh God, where did all this come from? He’s gone from slow and no touching to this. Pushing my chest up into his mouth, my hand invades his hair as he groans.

“I’ll arrange something so I can sleep over another night with no questions,” he mumbles into my skin.

I smile at him in what must be a really dopey way. “Sounds amazing, but you’re not leaving before we’ve showered together, and I’ve soaped this all over.” I place a hand on his chest.

He groans running his fingers down my abs. “You’re beautiful, Des, I’m awed that …”

I press my finger to his lips and shake my head. “Stop. Shower.”

After Alex has left, I lie like a starfish in my big bed, cooling off. His face. Oh God,his face. Like the whole thing was such a thrill. My heart clenches and trips over. Already I feel like I can’t lose him, that I’d do anything for him. The noise he made when I first touched his cock. The thought makes me hard again as I stare at the shadows on the ceiling, and my hand finds Mitzi’s soft fur.

My phone vibrates and the screen lights up on the bedside table, so I roll over to switch it off, but it’s a message from Alex. Expecting a sweet good night, I swipe to WhatsApp and a photo pops up. It’s his hip and his hand, the shadow of his cock behind it. I harden more. He’s a minx! What’s he going to be like after months in the gay world? Will I still have the adorable, shy guy I have now, or will he get lost in the endless partners and abundant sex on offer? My gut sours, but I examine the picture anyway, then press the button to call him.

“Hey,” he says softly.

“What is this photo?” I demand and this gets me a choked laugh.

“‘Specially for you,” he says.

“You’re bad. Now I’m hard.”

He laughs then whispers, “Talk me through it, Des.”

21

DES

The thing that distracts me for the entire day lands in a text box at 9 a.m. It says simply:

I can stay over tonight.

I send a few starry-eyed emojis back, but inside I’m exploding.A whole night. The sofa sex was hot enough, how am I going to survive having him in my bed? My skin tightens and a buzz runs through my body like I grabbed an electric wire. Shit.

Pacing around the office for a bit, I peer over everyone’s shoulders and start asking questions, but all that does is find a load of issues with the Samsung project I wasn’t aware of. Whereas normally I’d leave everyone to sort their own problems out, we’re still struggling to hit this deadline, so I dive into a few to distract myself. Then I catch Cath gaping at me, and eventually James takes my arm and tells me to go out, soak up some May sunshine, and get him a coffee.

When I arrive back, I hand him the cup and he eyes me quizzically over his monitor. “What’s up with you today?”

“A guy I like is coming over for a sleepover tonight.” I blow out a long breath. “I really like him.”

James laughs and shakes his head. “Isn’t this something you do every night of the week? Why the angst? Which one’s this?”

“Ankle guy.”

His eyes go wide. “Wow! Long-term, then? That picture was ages ago. I thought he was a no-goer? Wanted to take things slow?”

“Yeah, he did. So we’ve been doing that, and I’ve been enjoying it.”

He gives me a knowing grin. “Jane and I didn’t do the business until we’d been dating for a year.”

I bug my eyes out at him. “Seriously?”

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