Page 23 of Lord of the Lock

“I should’ve known you were after a threesome,” I joked.

Finn’s arm snaked over my shoulders slowly, and I realised I actually liked it. “I’ve been there, done that enough times,” Finn said. “I’m more a one man or woman kinda guy now. That and I can’t have people thinking I’m cheating on mytotally real boyfriend.”

I settled into his embrace. “Better not cheat on me, I’m worth more than that.”

“You really, really are,” said Finn. I felt my cheeks heat up and we sat mostly in silence and together for three episodes ofThrones of Blood.Every time a scene filmed in Hiraeth came up or I had any gossip from Daniel about the cast and crew, I brought it up to Finn and he’d smile. After three episodes his yawns were getting louder and more frequent.

“Ready for bed?” he asked.

I nodded, not as easily now. I followed Finn up the dark stairwell to his room. Thankfully, his bed was massive, probably the only new piece of furniture in the house. Finn stripped to his boxer-briefs and hopped in. For a second, I struggled to take my eyes off his broad, furry thighs. But I dragged my eyes up to meet his. “I always sleep on the left,” he said when I hesitated. When I didn’t step forward, he frowned. ‘Is there anything wrong?”

“No, no. Nothing wrong.” I pulled my t-shirt over my head and let my jeans drop, and he looked away respectfully even though he’d probably seen so much more when we were changing. Finn was a good guy. My complex was my problem to deal with.

I climbed into the bed and laid on the opposite side to Finn, almost at the very edge. He radiated heat like a furnace through the blanket. “Alexa, light off, pretty please!” he shouted. We were plunged into darkness. “Night, Nathan,” he yawned.

“Goodnight, Finn.” I dropped off to sleep in seconds.

13

Chapter Thirteen - Nathan

Trigger warning - Dubious, uncomfortable consent issues, alcoholism. As a flashback, this chapter will be touched upon in later chapters and serves to flesh out Nathan’s relationship with rugby and its players, so if you’d prefer to skip it shouldn’t hamper your enjoyment of the rest of the book.

8 years ago

Prom had been weird. I’d spent the whole night sneaking glances at Lewis with his prom date, and he had kept catching my eye and looking away like we were in the world’s most subtle game of cat and mouse.

I had finally caught up with him when he snuck out the back of the hotel we’d had our sixth form prom in to have a secret swig of vodka by himself from a plastic hip flask.

“You OK?” I asked him.

Lewis fumbled and almost dropped the vodka. “Fuck, man you scared me. Want some?”

I took the vodka that he’d been swigging like water and took a sip. I spluttered as the horrible burning sensation touched my throat. “Fucking hell, how are you drinking that?” I asked as I handed the bottle back.

“Dunno, used to it I guess,” he said. He took another swig and stepped close enough that I could smell it on his breath. He looked furtively around like he was scared of something and then he kissed me quickly, tongue slipping into my mouth and teeth clattering together. He pulled back and looked around again in case anyone else had come outside.

“We still on for tonight?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Good. See you later.” He threw the hip flask into the bushes and went back inside.

* * *

I had been waiting so long for this, but for some reason my stomach curdled with a sense of dread. I kept looking out of my bedroom window and finally saw Lewis making his way down the street. I took another sip of wine. I wasn’t as big a drinker as he was, but I enjoyed the odd glass of wine. It made me feel like a very grown-up eighteen year old to have a few civilised glasses with Mum and Dad in the weekday, rather than heading out to get pissed at the rugby club like Lewis and his mates. Not that I thought I’d be welcome there anyway.

But my parents were out for the weekend, and as I made my way down to the door to let Lewis in my stomach twisted with the thought of what might happen tonight. Lewis and I had a few fumbles in the woods or even in the old rugby stands at night when it had been raining heavily. This would be the first time we had a bedroom to ourselves for the night. I knew that might mean that more would happen between us than usual.

I opened the door and Lewis hurried in. He was still dressed in his prom suit and his tie was loose around his neck. “Close the fucking door then, it’s freezing,” he said. I closed the door and immediately his lips were on mine. His lips tasted like vodka and sweat, and there was a lipstick stain at the edge of his mouth.

“Were you kissing Gwen?” I asked between kisses.

“What does it matter?” came the muffled reply before he was kissing me again. “Where’s the bedroom?”

I took his hand and led him upstairs. His grip was clammy, and when I looked back at him he was still looking around like someone might jump out from the shadows.

“It’s just us,” I told him. “We’ve got the house to ourselves for the night.”

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