Page 29 of Love Around the Corner

“Yes. Me too. Me too, Alfie.”

With a tender hand cupping his face, Alfie kissed him. A deep, thorough, hungry kiss, his weight pressing Leo into the mattress, their cocks grinding between them as their hips rolled together.

Groaning, Leo wrapped his legs around Alfie’s waist, changing the angle, increasing the pressure. Alfie growled, one hand sliding underneath to grab Leo’s ass, thrusting harder, cocks riding against each other in a crescendo of friction. “Leo,” he growled. “Fuck, Leo, come on.”

And then he bit down on Leo’s shoulder. The jolt of delicious pain sent him sparking over the edge, and he shot between them with a startled shout of joy.

“Christ. Fuck.” And Alfie was gone too, arching up, rigid, as he pulsed in warm waves against Leo’s belly, hot and sticky and perfect. And then they were collapsing into each other’s arms, laughing at the mess, dragging in long heaving breaths.

There was no question of Leo leaving; it wasn’t even something they discussed. After Alfie hauled himself to the bathroom and fetched a warm washcloth to clean them up, he just switched off the lights, slipped back into bed, and pulled Leo into his arms. He lay there listening to the steady beat of Alfie’s heart beneath his ear, to the sound of the storm raging outside, and sank into vast contentment.

But then Alfie spoke, his voice soft in the dark. “I can’t believe how fast this is happening,” he said, the words ruffling Leo’s hair. “I feel… It’s almost like we already know each other.”

And suddenly the darkness became tense, watching. Waiting.

This was the moment. Leo recognized it as he let it drift silently past. This was the moment when he should have spoken. But he was too afraid; the thought of losing Alfie now, of losing everything, terrified him. The risk was unbearable and he couldn’t take it.

Burying his face into the warm skin of Alfie’s bare shoulder, he said nothing and his chance slipped away. Alfie’s arms loosened around him, his breathing deepening, evening out into sleep.

But Leo lay awake much longer, resisting the pull of sleep for fear of what waking might bring.

Chapter Nine

Sunlight streamed in through the bedroom window, smelling like coffee.

No. That couldn’t be right. Leo pried open one eye and found himself looking up at the handsome figure of Alfie Carter, perched next to him on the bed, holding a steaming mug. He smiled. “Morning, sleepyhead.”

Leo blinked. “What time is it?”

“Just after eight.” He offered the coffee and Leo struggled fuzzily to sit up.

“Thanks.”

His voice sounded scratchy and Alfie grinned, reaching out to tousle Leo’s hair. “That’s some impressive bedhead you’ve got going on there.”

“Oh God.” He reached up to flatten it down. His hair was stupidly thick and he couldn’t do a thing with it. “Needs a cut.”

Alfie’s grin softened. “Nah, I like it.” He leaned in and kissed Leo lightly on the lips. “We should get going, though. We told Dee we’d be at the hall by eight-thirty.”

“I need shower before I go anywhere,” Leo said, horrified by the idea of confronting Dee in his current state. If she guessed what had happened between him and Alfie, who knew what she’d say—or do.

Alfie’s eyebrows twitched up, one hand sliding along Leo’s thigh to where his cock was already showing interest in the situation. “Wanna share?”

“We’ll be late.”

Alfie took the barely-drunk coffee from his hands, set it on the nightstand. “That sounds like a challenge,” he said, and leaned in to claim another, deeper kiss.

In the end, they didn’t make it to the shower, chasing each other to release with hands and mouths right there where the winter sunlight warmed the bed, bringing out the auburn hints in Alfie’s hair, the golden tan of his skin glowing like copper.

By the time they rushed out of the house, splitting a toasted bagel between them on the run, it was five after nine and they were laughing too hard for Leo to worry about Dee. They plowed their way through a dazzling fall of new snow and up to the church hall. Being a Saturday, the streets were relatively quiet, and with the blanketing effect of the snowfall the world felt hushed, altered by its new coat of white into somewhere magical. Like a snowflake, Leo thought as they crunched along side-by-side, this moment was unique in its brief, fragile perfection.

Of course, it couldn’t last.

Dee met them at the door to the hall, her smile fading instantly. She must have noticed the way Alfie was standing so close to Leo, the tender touch of his hand on Leo’s back, the glow of happy contentment in his eyes. Maybe she saw the same in Leo’s face. But whatever it was, Dee saw something. Leo watched her joining the dots. His stomach clenched, a swooping dread chilling him deeper than last night’s storm.

“Don’s struggling with the gazebos,” Dee said, with jolly brittleness. “Alfie, honey, go and give him a hand would you? Leo and I can handle the tables.”

Alfie agreed with an obliging, “Yes, ma’am”, and left Leo with a quick, intimate smile that touched him like the brief kiss they’d shared before stepping out into the snow.

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