Page 64 of Milo
“I think your partner for the evening.” I look at the dancefloor and stiffen immediately. A man is dancing with Milo and as I watch he edges behind Milo, grabbing his hips and grinding into him. The lights pulse over them which is nothing compared to the red rage that fills me, making my head feel like it might explode all over this glittery club.
A hand comes down on mine and I realise that I’ve stood up. I look down at Gideon. “Let go of me,” I say through clenched teeth.
“No,” he says calmly. “You’re about to make a massive tit of yourself and as your best friend, I’m here to save you. No, no.” He waves his hand in a cavalier manner that makes me want to smack him. “Please don’t say thank you. It was nothing.” He exerts pressure on my arm until I sit back down. “That’s better,” he says serenely. “Now, watch and learn.”
“I don’t want anyone putting their hands on him,” I growl.
“Why?” he asks incredulously. “You’re not in a committed relationship. He’s free to do what he wants and with who he chooses. How will you feel about that when it happens or when he sets you free to do your own thing? He’s young. It’s bound to happen.” I flinch back from him and his eyes focus on the dancefloor behind me. “But you can relax because I don’t think you need to worry about that tonight.”
I turn around and find Milo in the act of sharply elbowing the barnacle who’s attached himself to his arse. The bloke winces and steps back and Milo turns, his mouth working furiously as he shouts in the man’s face. I’m not sure if he’s stuttering because that happens when he’s really feeling something, but the ire on his face and the hand he places on the bloke’s chest and pushes him back certainly gets his message across.
I stare at him, feeling intense pride rush through me. It happens a lot with him because I know probably better than anyone the battle he faces with the stutter and his self-confidence.
“See,” Gideon murmurs. “All sorted. You have to be careful, Niall,” he continues. “I know you want to fight all his battles for him, but that’s just fucking stupid.”
I turn my head and glare at him. “Why?”
“Because, stupid, you won’t leave him any of his own to fight,” he says simply. “And he needs to do that. Win or lose, he needs to make his own decisions, and you’re going to have tostep back and let him or you’ll lose him in the end because he’ll think you’re another Thomas.”
I breathe in sharply, Gideon’s dig hitting my chest and mixing with the fear I have there that maybe I’m no good for Milo. I look up and find Milo standing and watching us. His eyes are dark and he looks concerned. I smile at him, but it must be pathetic because he shakes his head. I make another attempt which he obviously finds more satisfactory because he nods happily and turns back to dancing with Jacinta, the two of them looking gorgeous amongst all those people.
I turn back to Gideon to find him watching me. “Why are you helping me? It’s very weird,” I say abruptly but he laughs.
“Because it’s funny.” He sobers up. “And I love you, Niall. You’re the best person I’ve ever known.”
I stare at him, unsure how to take this, but I’m distracted when Sam raises his head from the table. His hair is sticking up everywhere and he has a beer mat stuck to his cheek. “What day is it?” he asks blearily.
“I don’t fucking know, mate,” I say disconsolately. “Everything’s topsy-turvy now.”
Milo
A few days later I sit back in the hot tub on Niall’s balcony and look at my view. The mountains rise over the village like humped figures under white blankets. It’s twilight and lights are coming on all around, but out here it’s private as no one overlooks this side of the house. Fat, fluffy flakes eddy down from the sky and land on my face, their cold touch giving tiny shocks.
I smile and wriggle further under the hot churning water, feeling it tug and pull at my sore muscles and inhaling the scent of chlorine. We’ve skied every day from early until late and I feelas if I’ve done an intensive workout. My arms and legs are sore and my arse is tender. However, I feel alive and buzzing.
I’ve adored these last few days with Niall. We’ve been with the others in the party, but he still managed to sneak some time for the two of us when he took me snowshoeing at dusk. That had been memorable with the swish-swish sound of the shoes through the snow, the wind howling around the trees, the feel of his hand on mine, and the sight of his face tanned from skiing and glowing in the low light.
I wriggle even further under the water and smile. The sound of the door opening and shutting and the pad of footsteps makes my grin widen, and I open my eyes to find Niall standing on the balcony. He’s got rid of the grey ski trousers and red and grey checked ski jacket he was wearing earlier and is now clad only in thermal underwear, the tight dark-grey fabric hugging the long length of him and displaying the bulge of his groin. He’s also carrying two big mugs with steam coming from them.
I sit up eagerly, water sloshing over the side of the tub and onto the ground. “Oh, is that hot chocolate?”
He grins, handing me both mugs and then starting to strip. I stare at him, the cups in my hand forgotten as his long, golden body comes into view, his cock hanging softly and his balls bunching as he moves to hop into the tub.
“Fuck, that’s good,” he groans, and the sound makes me shudder. He grins at me and holds out his hand for his mug. Taking a sip, he groans again before putting it on the table by the tub. “God, that brandy in it makes it so good.”
I smirk. “You sound like you need alcohol.”
“Yes, thank you so much for abandoning me. I really and truly loved being left with the Grady sisters.”
I grimace at the thought of Jacinta and her sister, who take sibling rivalry to previously uncharted heights. The comparison with the twin girls fromThe Shiningis very apt. “Was it bad?”
He shakes his head. “Put it this way, as I was leaving Jacinta offered to insert Daisy’s skis somewhere that the manufacturers certainly weren’t prepared for.”
“It’s hardlyLittle House on the Prairie, is it?”
He shudders. “Only if it had been set in a hell dimension.”
I throw my head back and laugh loudly. When I recover it’s to find him staring at me. “What?”
