Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 43759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
sum m er was one of the m ost hum iliating experiences of his life. They ’d
sat down and m ade a plan for how he was going to repay it, and Jez was
determ ined to stick to it, even if it m eant living on the cheapest baked
beans on toast for the rest of his student day s. He also had student loans,
of course, as every one did these day s, but he didn’t have to worry about
pay ing those off until he was in full-tim e em ploy m ent. “Any way,
speaking of starving—I’m bloody hungry.” Jez drained what was left in
his beer. “I’m going to go and see what I’ve got in the way of food.”
The kitchen was still m ay hem . Shawn and Dani were fighting each
other for space on the cooker top, and Dani’s boy friend was chopping
things up for what looked like a stir-fry. Jez couldn’t face the scrum , so he
poured him self a bowl of Frosties and used up the last bit of his m ilk. He
should have bought som e food as well as beer in the shop; his shelf in the
fridge was woefully bare.
“Is that y our dinner?” Mac looked disapprovingly at Jez’s bowl as he
sat down again.
“It’s fine. Cereal’s fortified with vitam ins, isn’t it? I couldn’t be arsed
to cook any thing. There’s too m any people in there.”
Jez and Mac stay ed in the living room as others cam e and went.
Shawn j oined them for a while to eat his dinner on the sofa, and then
Dani and her boy friend cam e to sit at the dining table with plates of
whatever they ’d been cooking.
Mac got up. “I’m gonna go and m ake som e food.”
The others left. On the way out, Shawn m ade a vain attem pt to
persuade Jez to j oin him and Mike at som e new bar that had opened down
by the harbour, but he didn’t push when Jez declined, as usual. Once he’d
gone, Jez was bored with what was on TV, so he went to j oin Mac in the
kitchen.
“Do y ou want a beer?” Jez offered.
“Yeah, cheers.”
Jez grabbed a couple of cans from the fridge, passed one to Mac,
and then sat up on one of the worktops, watching Mac as he stirred
som ething in a pan. It sm elled delicious. Jez’s m outh watered. The
Frosties hadn’t filled him up m uch; m ay be he’d have som e toast later.
“Whatcha m aking?” he asked.
“Tom ato sauce for spaghetti. I stuck som e bacon and m ushroom s in
there too.”
“Nice.” Jez m ade a m ental note to go shopping tom orrow.
Jez drank his beer while Mac grated cheese, stirred his sauce and
drained the pasta. But then Jez’s phone buzzed with a text from his m um ,
so he wasn’t pay ing attention when Mac dished up because he was busy
reply ing—letting her know that y es, he was still alive, and y es, he was
working hard and eating properly.
“It’s ready,” Mac said.
Jez looked up to see Mac with a steam ing plate in each hand.
He stared at him . “Is one of those for m e?” Mac had never cooked
for him before.
“Who else would it be for?” Mac looked at him as if he was stupid.
“If y ou want it. It’ll keep it for tom orrow, if not… I j ust thought….”
“Yes! I definitely want it,” Jez replied quickly. “Thanks.” He slid
down from the worktop and took the plate that Mac held out to him . Jez
sm iled, grateful, and the warm th in Mac’s answering sm ile m ade a warm
bubble of happiness expand in Jez’s chest.
They sat at the dining table to eat and didn’t bother to put the TV
back on. They chatted about random stuff: their course, a test they had to
study for, m utual friends. Every tim e their gazes m et across the table, Jez
felt another little twist of good feeling. He had to keep tam ping down the
urge to grin like an idiot.
After they ’d eaten, they decam ped to the sofa and put on a DVD of
Game of Thrones. Jez used to watch it for the boobs as m uch as the story,
but these day s he found him self looking at the guy s as m uch as the girls.
Had his tastes changed, or was he sim ply m ore aware of his capacity for
sam e-sex attraction now? None of them were a patch on Mac, though, he
decided. He glanced sideway s at Mac’s profile, adm iring his full lips and
the square cut of his j aw.
Feeling bold, Jez sidled closer and put his hand on Mac’s thigh. The
hard m uscle tensed for a m om ent and then relaxed. Without looking at
him or say ing any thing, Mac brought his arm up and put it around Jez’s