Page 10 of Note to Self
“Then I’m looking forward to my date tomorrow even more. Goodnight, Merlin.” He nods and turns away.
I’ve got to tell my dick nothing’s going to happen, and not anytime soon either. I’m not rushing this. I want this to work out, and that means getting to know him, all of him—his life, his work, his family. And I want to tell him everything about me too. I’ve never been so excited.
But when I lie in bed, with my head still full of him and my cum cooling on my stomach and chest, reality hits me.
Drew and Merrick are right. Trent’s only here for six weeks.
And I’m hooked.
Merrick’s and Drew’s words have rung through my head all day. By the time I have to get ready for dinner, I’ve almost persuaded myself to cancel, but I’ve already let Trent down once. I don’t do shit like that, and ghosting someone in a town as small as Calston Cove is not a good idea. It would damage my reputation, and if he is related, or was—I don’t know exactly—to Merrick, I would be letting him down. Drew would be pissed off with me, and that’s never going to end well.
I knock on the door of the cottage, and it opens immediately. He shakes his hands out nervously. “Was it too obvious I was waiting by the door?”
God, he’s adorable. “Not at all. What if I told you I had to walk up and down the high street a couple of times to stop myself from being ridiculously early?”
He visibly relaxes and gives me a huge grin. “That’s okay, then.” He gestures at his clothes. His washed-out blue skinny jeans have tears in the knees, but they weren’t bought like that, I’m sure. He’s added a blue check shirt over a white tank top, leaving all the buttons undone so it hangs loosely from his shoulders. “Am I dressed, okay? I didn’t know what you had planned, but I can change if it’s not right.”
“No, you look gorgeous, good enough to eat.” I lean in and kiss his cheek, then bite back a moan. “You smell amazing too.”
He blushes a delightful pale pink that makes a few freckles I hadn’t noticed before stand out. “Thank you, you look lovely too. Very handsome.”
“I’ve booked a table at the bistro if that’s okay. Have you been there yet?”
“No, I’m not the kind of guy who likes eating in a place like that by myself. The pub is fine, too busy for anyone to care or notice who’s alone, but a small bistro is too open to inquisitive minds.”
I’d never thought of that. I’ve always been confident enough to do exactly what I want. I probably wouldn’t’ve noticed if I were being observed. But I wouldn’t have put him down as a shy person. People who holiday alone are usually happy to be by themselves and do exactly what they feel like. Maybe he’s recovering from a bad break-up? I doubt he would be interested in dating anyone again so soon. I need to stop trying to guess his story and instead ask questions.
“Have you got everything, keys, phone, wallet?” I ask as he steps out of the door and closes it.
“Yes, Mum. I even washed behind my ears and have clean underwear on. Shit, not that you needed to know that. My mother was always worried about us being in an accident and not having clean undies on. But then she does tend to focus onthe small stuff and ignore the bigger things. And please shut me up. I’m rambling on like a madman.”
“Well, your mother will be happy to know that I, too, have clean underwear on.”
Trent lets out a snort of a laugh. “She would only be happy to hear that if you were the opposite sex.”
“Pardon?”
“My mother has an issue with my sexuality. Unable to cope with having two gay sons. Only I’m bi, not gay. My brother, Josh, was the gay one.”
His explanation of his family fits in with Drew’s explanation of the Trent he’d heard of and the way he mentioned his brother in the past tense. He must be Merrick’s missing family member. Will he tell me? Probably not tonight. That’s a heavy topic for a first-date conversation.
“How long have you lived here? You don’t have the same accent as the locals,” Trent asks.
I’m happy to move away from that potential can of worms.
“Only about ten months. I wanted a career change. It was more than that, actually. I’d had enough of being in an office all day. I wanted to be outside, so I took an online degree in horticulture. It was hard work on top of a full-time job. It’s worth it, though. I’ve just bought a run-down property on three acres of land. I want to open a nursery as well as my gardening services.”
“Was that the reason for your celebration in the pub?”
“Yeah, I was able to sell my flat and use that money for the land. My sister was living there but decided to go travelling. It was perfect timing, much to my mother’s chagrin. She didn’t want me to move away, and by selling the last tangible piece of my life there gone, she had to accept I wasn’t going to go home. We’re a close-knit family, and sometimes I miss her Sundaylunches, but that’s not enough of a reason to go back. What about you?”
Trent shrugs. “It’s pretty much the same sort of thing as you, although I haven’t decided what to do after the summer holidays are over. I’m a secondary school teacher, so if I decide not to go back home, I can probably find a job anywhere. But unlike you, my family is not a happy one. My parents did a shitty thing a few years ago and have never been the same. At long last, I’d had enough of my mum trying to set me up with women and told her I wasn’t necessarily looking for a female partner. Well, to say it didn’t go down well is a massive understatement. I cut ties with them, then.” I keep my idea of painting, of my sketches, I want to try to sell to myself. I’m so rusty they could all be shit. I’m not ready to be told that yet.
We’ve made it to the bistro, and Trent goes quiet while we’re seated.
“To finish the story, I finished the school year avoiding them and came here.”
“I’m glad you did.”
