Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
When they’d dished up two huge bowls—Ewan was right, the recipe had made very generous portions—they carried their food through to the living room.
The layout was very similar to Dev’s house: two sofas, a couple of armchairs, and a large dining table in the bay window.
Ryan and James were on a sofa each, glued to football on the TV, their empty plates abandoned on the coffee table. Ewan and Dev joined Nadia and Justine at the table. They sat opposite each other, and Ewan tucked into his food immediately.
“God, this is great,” he said after his first mouthful. “I’m allowed to say that because you did most of the cooking.”
Dev took a forkful. It really was good. Ewan wasn’t exaggerating. “This is the best thing I’ve tasted since… I don’t know when.”
“Since Friday?”
Ewan’s tone was innocent, but the words made Dev choke on a mouthful of noodles. He jerked his head up and glared at Ewan, whose grin was anything but innocent.
“Need some water?” Ewan pushed Dev’s glass towards him.
Dev shook his head and went back to eating. The burn in his cheeks matched the heat in his groin. Hot and bothered from Ewan’s teasing, he felt a glow of happiness too. The friendship, the flirting… it was all new and exciting and wonderful. Dev could get used to it.
After they’d eaten, they went back to the kitchen to stack what they could into the dishwasher—only the wok, the pan, the bowls, and the forks needed washing.
“I’ll do them,” Dev said.
“You don’t need to.”
“It will only take a minute.”
So Dev washed, and Ewan dried and put them away.
“I guess I should go,” Dev said, wiping his hands on a tea towel. He didn’t want to outstay his welcome. “Thank you for the cooking lesson.”
“You’re welcome. It was fun. Do you want to do it again this week? Tuesday, maybe, or Wednesday?”
Ewan sounded enthusiastic, and Dev was pretty sure it was a genuine offer. “Yes, I’d love to. Tuesday’s good for me.”
“Pick another recipe, then, and let me know the ingredients you need.”
“Why don’t I buy them next time? I was going to give you cash for today, but I could pay for the next lot instead—if that works?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Suddenly the tension was back. They stood facing each other, not quite within touching distance, but it wouldn’t take much to close the gap.
Ewan licked his lips, and Dev caught the movement, his gaze snagging on the wet pink of Ewan’s mouth. Dev wanted to kiss him. Was Ewan thinking about kissing him too?
“I’d better—” Dev said at the same time as Ewan said, “Do you want—?”
The kitchen door burst open again.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Nadia said cheerily as she whisked past them to get to the dishwasher. “Don’t mind me.”
“It’s… I’m just leaving anyway.” Dev thought he caught a flash of disappointment on Ewan’s face, but it was gone before he could be sure.
“I’ll see you out,” Ewan said.
Ewan not only saw Dev to the front door, he followed him outside into the cool of the evening. His feet were bare and he was only wearing a thin T-shirt.
“What are you doing?” Dev asked.
“Walking you home.”
It was about twenty steps from Ewan’s front door to Dev’s. “Why?”
“Because I want to say goodbye without anyone interrupting us.”
“Oh.” Dev’s heart surged and his knees suddenly felt wobbly. Maybe it was a good thing he had Ewan beside him in case he tripped on the steps.
When they reached Dev’s front door. Dev turned to face Ewan again. The street was deserted.
“Alone at last,” Ewan said with a smile.
Dev’s head was full of questions as Ewan moved forward and put his hands on Dev’s shoulders.
What are we doing? Why are we doing this? What does it mean?
But he was loath to ruin the moment by opening his mouth for anything other than Ewan’s tongue. Ignoring his racing thoughts, he held his breath and waited.
But the kiss, when it came, was just a soft brush of lips on his cheek and a tantalising scratch of Ewan’s stubble. Ewan pulled away before Dev had time to think about how to prolong it or turn it into something more than a friendly peck.
“Good night, Dev.”
Dismissed, Dev wilted and tried to hide his disappointment. “Night.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
After Dev went inside, Ewan stared at the closed front door for a moment before turning away.
He was sad the evening was already over. He’d been trying to pluck up the courage to ask Dev whether he wanted to come upstairs when Nadia had interrupted them.
Maybe it was for the best. If Dev had turned him down, it would have made things awkward. Ewan didn’t want to believe that Dev only wanted him as a sex tutor or gay mentor or whatever the fuck he was. He was almost sure Dev wanted more too. He could see it in the way Dev looked at him, in his sweet receptiveness to Ewan’s touch. But he wasn’t sure enough to ask Dev how he felt.