Page 35 of Full Service

“Right, let’s do some games with this,” said James. “I want a game of never have I ever.” The whole group groaned like they’d all been subjected to this before.

“Ground rules!” called Llywelyn before he grabbed a shot from the tray and downed it. My memories of him as a shy, reserved man were obviously no longer correct. “You only have to explain if you’re the only drinker, otherwise your lips are sealed.” He started to distribute the shots between all of us, so we all had a good few each.

“Never have I ever,” started Tudor, “sucked dick in the beach caves.”

“Twat,” said James, taking a shot.

I looked around the group before taking my own shot. “What the fuck?” Llywelyn and Tudor were looking at me.

“My lips are sealed,” I responded. They didn’t need to know my teenage escapades. “You, though?” I asked James. I knew that the caves had been a common haunt for teenagers when I was younger, but had no idea he’d ever been involved in any way.

“No questions, no lies,” he replied. Llywelyn smirked behind that bushy beard.

“Right, my turn,” said Daniel. “Never have I ever had sex in the hotel.”

Every single one of us except Macsen reached for a shot, and laughter rang between us in between coughing and spluttering. I fuckinghatedSambuca. “That was hookup central when we were teenagers,” I said to him. “Pay one night or just ask Tudor for a key and you were well in.”

“Well, we’re not renting by the hour now,” Daniel muttered. “Not that kind of hotel.”

“Right, my go!” James shouted. He locked eyes with me, and I felt my stomach roll. Fear? Nerves? Probably all of the above. “Never have I ever shagged a mechanic.”

Nice.I could lie, but that wasn’t the spirit of the game. I looked at Macsen as I grabbed a shot, vaguely aware of Daniel doing the same on the other side of the table. I did my best not to care about anyone else as I raised the shot to my lips.

“Alaw’s going to be furious that you’ve been doing it with Alun!” Llywelyn laughed, even as eyes swivelled between me and Macsen.

“Hey, I never said it was here. Could’ve been London.”

“It wasn’t though, was it?” Macsen muttered. I couldn’t tell if the rest of the group had heard. When I looked at him, he almost looked…annoyed? Did he want me to admit to what we’d done…what we were doing, right here in front of these people?I allowed myself a second to imagine. His hand was so close to mine, I could just reach over and grab it properly. I could kiss him as freely as James and Llywelyn had kissed at the table. It was disgustingly domestic. But it was tempting.

“Right, my turn.” Daniel looked around at the group. “Never have I ever fallen for a man from Hiraeth.”

As both he and James took a shot from the table and laughed, I stayed resolutely still. Macsen and I looked at one another, just for a second. Neither of us reached for a shot.

Chapter Ten

Macsen

December 13th

My head hurt, my tongue felt fuzzy and I was shivering. At twenty-six years of age my hangovers always felt like I’d imagined they would be when I was forty.

I’d obviously gotten naked before clambering into bed, as I often did, and was laid out above the sheets. It was freezing in the room, the window had been left open and hangover horn had me solid as a rock. I idly reached down with a clumsy hand to play with myself.

There was movement directly to my right, and I felt like I jumped out of my skin.

It was Hywel. I was lying in bed next to Hywel. He was bare-chested and under the covers. Sixteen year old me might have pulled a party popper and WhatsApped all of his friends. Twenty-six year old me just about managed to keep all that excitement inside.

“What the fuck…?” I muttered. I wasn’t sure if I expected an answer, but he definitely gave one.

“I walked you home after your stunning rendition ofStaying Aliveand made sure we didn’t get hit by any tractors,” said Hywel.

“Fuck. Did we?” I asked.

“Do you still have all your limbs? Don’t you worry.” Hywel laughed. I hated how he still looked attractive hungover in the morning.

“No,” I said, “I meant did we…” my suggestion hung in the air,

“Fucking hell, what do you take me for?” asked Hywel. “I got you home and into bed. You might have gotten naked andbeggedme to, and I quote, ‘fuck me ‘til tomorrow’, but I have a better sense of morals than that. I wasn’t going to turn down a chance for a cuddle in bed rather than on the sofa though.”

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