Page 44 of Dream a Little Dream

“No.”

“Shame.” Aaron went to leave, but Taylor grabbed his arm to prevent his escape.

“I’ll come with you.”

Aaron shrugged, then sauntered off, back up the steps and through the throng to the doors which led outside to the smokers’ hut. Darkness had set in around the campus, only the streetlamps lighting up the shelter, and Aaron dug into his pocket to retrieve his vape. Taylor met him there, clasping his arms around himself. It was unusually chill for an October evening. Especially as the sun had been out in the day. It was as though the world was prepping for the festival of Samhain.

“What happened to your face?” Taylor said, leaning into him.

Aaron took a drag of vape.

“And your hand!” Taylor grabbed his hand, checking over the cuts Aaron hadn’t bothered to clean or hide.

Aaron let Taylor fuss over him. Not because it was nice. Or he got something from the attention. But because Taylor might believe either of those. Eventually he took his hand back for another lungful of poison.

“Prick in halls,” Aaron said, blowing out the vapour. “Threatened to smash my gay fucking face, so I stopped him from doing that.”

“Jesus, Aaron. Did you report it?”

“No.”

Taylor folded his arms. “Why not?”

“No point.”

“It’s a hate crime.”

Aaron laughed. “You can be off duty, y’know.”

“I’m never off duty. Not when shit like this happens to people like us all the fucking time. You can’t let him get away with it.”

“I didn’t.” Aaron held up his cut hand, then took a drag of his vape.

Taylor gave him a look reminiscent of the ones he used to get from Jayden, the bloke in his care home who’d been a big brother to him for a while. So Aaron, for whatever reason he couldn’t explain, tucked a finger into Taylor’s belt loops and pulled him forward. He stumbled into him and Aaron, an inch away from his face, blew out the menthol vape and kissed him.Withtongue. Taylor hummed into it, tongue looping around his as if searching for something he’d lost and roaming his hands around Aaron’s hips to his arse.

If only hefeltsomething.

Aaron backed away. Slipped his vape into his pocket, then wormed out from Taylor. “See you around.”

“You going back to your room?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I come?”

Aaron laughed. “You gotta try harder than that.”

“C’mon! Least give me your number.”

“Haven’t you learnt you need to earn your treats?” Aaron spun, then turned back, sauntering off through the campus toward his Halls.

It was quiet when he got back. Most of the lads were out or asleep. So Aaron used the opportunity to lie flat on the floor, peeking beneath the tiniest gap under Rahul’s door. The lightwas off. Couldn’t see a thing. So he jumped up, sighed and went into his own room.

He’d done his good deed for the day.

Maybe for his lifetime.

Chapter eleven

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