Page 114 of Off the Pitch

“I’m fine,” I said, waving my hand. That was a big mistake. My finger caught the edge of the frying pan, searing the knuckle against the burning edge. “Mother fishcakes!” I shoved my finger into my mouth in some vague attempt to suck the pain away, but that only seemed to make it worse. It needed to go under a tap, but now that it was in my mouth, I didn’t want to take it out.

A pathetic whine slid out of me like a deflated squeaky toy.

“Let me see,” Hugo said as he held out his hand. I slowly offered up my finger, which didn’t actually look as bad as I thought it would. It still hurt though. “You need to put it under the tap.”

“But dinner,” I wailed.

“It’ll wait,” said Hugo firmly.

“Ugh, this wasn’t how this was supposed to go,” I muttered, wincing as the cold water stung my skin.

“What wasn’t?”

“This,” I said with an aimless wave at the stove. I sighed. It was time to trust David. “It’s just, well, I’ve been doing some thinking and, um, you know how you said you would like us to go to dinner? As, um, more than friends. In more of a romantic way. Well, I’ve been thinking and I… I’d quite like to do that with you. That is, if you’re still interested…”

“Are you sure?” Hugo asked, his voice almost breathless, as if he couldn’t quite believe what I was saying. I wasn’t sure I could quite believe it either.

“Yes, I am. I think I like you, Hugo, and I’d like to give this a try.”

“Good, because I’d like that too.”

“Oh…” A smile broke across my face, my insides turning themselves over and over as happiness shot through me. “Really?”

“Really. You’re wonderful Kit.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. “You won’t be saying that in another month.”

“I think I will.”

“No, you won’t. Especially…” My words trailed off as my worries bobbed to the surface like little rubber ducks on the ocean. I was starting to feel something for Hugo, something I hadn’t felt in a long time… but my past experiences weighed on me, and I was starting to doubt my own body. And yet… there was every chance that things would be completely different in another month, even another week. I couldn’t let myself be ruled by fear, or I’d never get anywhere.

I had to trust in myself. And in Hugo.

“Kit,” Hugo’s voice was firm. “We’re going to take this one step at a time. This is new for both of us. I mean I haven’t dated in years. And if you’re not comfortable with something, then we don’t do it. Simple as that. Sex isn’t a deal breaker for me. Neither is anything else like that. Even if you only ever wanted to kiss me, then that would be fine. And if you don’t even want that, then that would be fine too.”

“You know, I don’t think wonderful is good enough a word to describe you,” I said. Happiness was bubbling up in my chest, threatening to spill out in nothing but laughter. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this much joy. “Now, I’m going to finish making you dinner if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Sounds perfect,” Hugo said. As I walked over to him to collect the jug he’d been whisking he leant over the counter and brushed his lips against my cheek. “Just like you.”

My skin burned where his lips had touched me, a new sensation of warmth blossoming across my cheek.

Chapter Twelve

HugoWho’s your favourite artist?

KitYou can’t ask me that!! That’s a horrible question—how can I choose?

KitIs this your revenge for the cheese debacle?

Hugo

Taking Kit to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs might have been the best first date idea ever.

We’d talked about going for weeks, but we’d never quite gotten around to it. Now, I had the perfect reason to make sure we took some time off to go.

I’d spent the entire night after Kit’s confession trying to plan our first date with hundreds of tabs open on my laptop as I scoured London for ideas. Eventually I’d concluded that dinosaurs were the best option and, if I were honest, it was the thing I wanted to do most anyway. Besides, I couldn’t wait to watch Kit’s face light up the way it always did when he was excited about something.

While I’d had my laptop open, I’d also done a shit-ton of reading about demisexuality because I wanted to make sure I got this right. I didn’t want to accidentally pressure Kit into something he wasn’t ready for. I knew sex was out of the question for now, but I wasn’t quite so sure on things like kissing and hand holding. Kit didn’t seem to mind if I gently kissed his cheek, but I didn’t want to push his boundaries when he wasn’t ready.

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