Page 16 of Out of the Shadows
“Yeah, okay, okay. I get it.” Freddie holds his hands out, palms facing, as though to ward me off.
“Bank balance.” I finish off with what I was most certainly not going to say.
Freddie rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
Ah, I’ve missed this…I’ve had a couple of house mates since Freddie moved out to be with Elliot, but both were short lived and I was glad to be shot of them.
“But seriously, what are you looking for?”
Loved up Freddie, all domesticity and the perfect happy ever after. I could be flippant, and it’s probably what he expects of me, but for once I’m lost for words. He’s gazing at me and I feel the pressure, like a weight on my chest, to answer, but I’m saved by the bell. Literally.
Freddie pulls his mobile from his pocket, a huge smile racing across his face.
“It’s Elliot. Hi, darling…”
He doesn’t move, doesn’t dart off to the hallway or the kitchen to talk in private to his husband. I take it as a huge compliment at how easy we still are together, but I screen it out as I dive into more biscuits and think about his question which has somehow crawled under my skin.
What do I want…? Yes, tall and muscly with something big enough to match the bank balance, that goes without saying, but more than anything I want a man who’ll hold me tight and stop me from falling.
