I Hate Summer (18 page)

Somewhere behind me Meredith was about to have a heart attack. She was muttering something about coloring and chemistry and the photographer was scurrying around like a bloody fly clattering against a window as she tried to be everywhere at once. I barely noticed because all my senses were only tuned in to the man that had me balanced against his hand, forcing me to reach up toward him. A man that was staring down at me with a smirk, because he thought I looked like a girl.

“My wet dream was about ye,” I whispered, trying not to move too much. “I dreamed ye were sucking ma cock; shitting hell, ye were good at it….” I parted my lips slightly so he could just see my tongue darting in the darkness of my mouth. “So if yer having trouble remembering I’m not a girl; ye just imagine me coming in yer mouth.”

I let a smile touch the corner of my lips as I stared up at him and I watched Trystan’s eyebrows rise up his forehead as he processed what I was saying while still trying hard not to shift positions too much. I was impressed at that. Then he smirked again, raised my chin higher, and dropped his head so his mouth was next to my ear. I was practically balancing on just my toes, and as he disappeared from view, I felt my body leaning into him and the single point of contact against my chin.

“It’s okay, Ide,” he whispered against my ear. “You don’t have to worry; I think you’re more attractive when you’re a guy anyway.”

And at that I almost fell over.

I was expecting Meredith to shout at me as I lost my balance, but the odd woman actually giggled in glee as I stumbled over and Trystan reached out to steady me.

“Oh my God, Trystan; can you come every week? I’ve never seen Idrys look so sultry.”

What?
I wasn’t looking sultry, I was looking pissed off!

“Bloody hell, Meredith; can ye not inflate his ego any more than it already is?” I glared up at Trystan, who was grinning back.

Meredith and the photographer both laughed. “I think you’re doing a fine job of that by yourself, Idrys,” Meredith said, her tone slightly mocking; she was enjoying this far too much.

“It’s okay,” Trystan crooned as he dropped his head to one side with a wry grin curling one side of his lips. “It’s only a game, eh, Ide?”

I sighed because I had the distinct impression that I had just lost that round.

W
E
WENT
out for the free food and beer after the shoot. I honestly don’t think I have ever seen Meredith in such a good mood and I’d been working with her for six months by this point. She actually sat at the dining table cackling with glee as she went through the photos. She showed me one, and I actually groaned; it was so fricking embarrassing. You couldn’t really see Trystan’s face; he was bent over me, looking all rugged cowboy type with his broad shoulders, gorgeous tan, and unruly hair. I, by contrast, looked delicate and ghost-like in my formal wear as he held my chin so that I could stare longingly—yes, fricking longingly—up into his face.

“That’s my angry face,” I said as I handed her camera back and helped myself to more of my beer.

“Hah. Then I pity the boys you try and look sexy for; they must just fall at your feet,” Jules giggled. I rolled my eyes.

“Something like that.” I have never been so glad for the arrival of food.

After we’d finished there I arranged to meet up with my housemates in town. Trystan and I ended up arriving early and we found a table and got drinks to wait. Trystan didn’t seem all that bothered by the day so far. He didn’t even bring up what I’d said in the shoot and was his usual smug self as we chatted about areas to live. Apparently he’d booked in to see a house on Monday that was immediately available and looked perfect on paper, so hopefully he would be out of my hair by the end of next week.

“Ide?” My name was a question but it was followed instantly by a hand sliding onto my waist and a kiss pressed against my neck. “You ignoring me, dickhead?” Dan mocked in a poor imitation of a gay lisp. He laughed and pulled my face around to press a chaste kiss to my lips. “Or have you just got yourself a
boyfriend
?” His tone turned back to his usual low drawl and he shot a grin in Trystan’s direction, assessing his reaction, no doubt.

“Fricking hilarious, Dan,” I said with a roll of my eyes, because of all my friends, gay or straight, Dan knew best that I did not do boyfriends.

“So, a new recruit?” he said with a mocking lick of his lips as his gaze drifted blatantly down Trystan’s body. “Please tell me you found a new catcher, mmm-mmm.”

“Dan, this is Trystan; Trys, Dan.” I waved my hands between them as I did the introductions.

The sardonic smile on Dan’s face dropped into a look of astonishment. “Trystan? As in?”

“I only know one Trystan,” I said by way of explanation. Dan’s head whipped back round to the dark-haired guy next to me, who was watching with a look of wry amusement. He gave Dan a wave as he took a swig of his beer.

“You didn’t tell me he was hot,” Dan whispered against my ear, watching Trystan with an outraged smile. “Why exactly were you bothered about sharing a tent with him? I feel that you have done a disservice to homosexuals the world over by not using that infamous charm of yours to convert him.”

I pressed Dan out of my personal space, met his amused smile, and gave him a weary shake of my head—he wouldn’t be so amused if he knew what had happened.

“So you’re one of the guys Ide keeps abandoning me for?” Trystan asked with his trademark smirk.

“Yeah, not recently, though,” Dan said and shot me a slightly peeved look. “You over your bottoming phase, then? I’m sad, but you know I don’t mind switching. Surely I’m better than Ashlie’s loose ass?”

I chuckled. Ashlie was a little promiscuous even by my standards, but sometimes it was nice not to have to worry.

“Nah, not over it, just been busy,” I answered—mostly honestly. I hadn’t been any busier than usual, but with Trystan around in the evenings, I’d just never got round to organizing anything.

“Ooh, then are you busy later? I’ve got work in half an hour, but I’ll be off at eleven.”

“I’m shattered, actually. Tomorrow?”

I watched him think about it; then he nodded and pressed a kiss against the side of my lips. Happy, he turned his attention back to Trystan, who had watched our exchange with something bordering on amazement.

“Did you guys just discuss who else you were sleeping with, then organize a sex date?” Trystan asked.

“Sure, why?” Dan responded with a grin. Trystan was staring at him, not frowning exactly, but not smiling either. Dan chuckled. “You shouldn’t get the wrong idea; it’s not always that easy. Me and Ide just have an understanding, and I’ve learnt from other’s mistakes that if you’re possessive of Ide, he’ll leave you high and dry, so”—Dan turned back to me and shot me a slightly sad grin—“better to share than have none of him.”

“Don’t make it sound like ye save yerself just for me, ye fricking hypocrite,” I cut back with a roll of my eyes, and Dan’s usual grin returned.

“So, Trys?” said Dan, and I groaned silently at the mischievous look on his face. “Have you enjoyed a taste of our lovely Idrys?”

“Dan,” I warned. “Trys is straight.”

Dan hooked his hand around my waist and pulled me affectionately against his side. “Yeah? But we all know that every man has a little bit of gay inside of him reserved just for you, Ide.”

Trystan sniggered and seemed as unbothered as ever. “Well, he gives good head, I’ll give him that.”

I thought Dan was going to choke on his beer. When he finally stopped coughing, I wasn’t sure who he looked more annoyed with: me or Trystan. He settled for Trystan.

“You! First off, how
dare
you claim to be straight and get a blow job from Ide? Secondly, how dare you call it merely
good
? I’m offended for him.”

Trystan just shrugged and drank down some more of his beer.

Then Dan turned to me, and his irritation was a little more serious. “And
you
; you wonder why you get into trouble when you go around blowing straight guys?”

“It was complicated,” I muttered, thinking of the weird events that had led to me sucking Trystan off, and the negative consequences.

Still looking peeved, Dan glanced at his watch.

“I need to go,” he said reluctantly. He leaned forward and scooped a hand behind my head, pressing his lips to mine. I felt the gentle pressure of his tongue and let him have his way because he was pissed off, even though it had been he who brought up the conversation. “Text me about tomorrow,” he said as he broke away. Then he downed the last centimeter of his beer and left with a chaste kiss for me and a wave for Trystan.

“Do you have that effect on all men, then?” Trystan’s tone was wry as I looked back round.

“Dan was just in a funny mood,” I said, which was true. Trystan considered me.

“Do you really have no idea? He was jealous; he clearly has a thing for you.”

I rolled my eyes because Trystan didn’t know anything.

“Dan doesn’t get jealous; that’s what I like about
him
.” I left a little emphasis on the last word on purpose, and the slight ripple of tension across Trystan’s forehead told me he hadn’t missed my point. Yet he continued anyway.

“He was clearly—”

I cut Trystan off with an angry scowl.

“Ye know what the difference between ye and Dan is, Trystan?” I kept my voice furiously low as I leaned across the table toward him, capturing his gaze with mine. “Dan understands our situation. And yeah, maybe he’s annoyed that I did something stupid—because that’s what messing around with you was:
stupid
.”

Dan had been right about that, and I wondered when I would learn my lesson.

“But ye know what the difference between his feelings and yers are? Dan’s feelings aren’t
completely
fricking
arrogant
.” I quirked a pale eyebrow; I was being cruel and mocking, but he was still staring at me with that holier-than-thou smirk of his. Like he thought he knew, like he had any idea about me and about my relationship with Dan. Like it had been perfectly within his right to get so bloody annoyed about me kissing his brother. And it was fricking infuriating.

But not nearly as exasperating as the fact that the same arrogant smirk had turned me on so much in my dream this morning.

“Dan didn’t waltz into my life, my bed, and then
presume
I belonged to him; he did me the courtesy of asking what I wanted before assuming anything. And ye know what?” I reached forward and caught Trystan’s jaw in my hands. I felt the rasp of his evening stubble against my fingers as I tugged so he was leaning toward me across the table. I dropped my face down to the crook of his neck, taking an exaggerated breath as I ran my lips millimeters from his skin and settled with my mouth next to his ear.

“I could take ye home right now and fuck ye, and turn up at Dan’s tomorrow and
he
wouldn’t
care
,” I whispered against his ear, letting my tongue dart out to run against the curled ridge of flesh. “We’d laugh together about how sweet yer virgin ass was and about how clingy straight guys are. I could kiss ten Joshes in front of him, blow ye right there in the same room. And it’d be like it always is between us: I’ll fuck him or he’ll fuck me and we’ll both love it.”

I released my hold on him and pushed him back across the table. I met his gaze, he stared straight back, and his brown eyes were unflinching and indifferent.

And then he laughed. Big peals of laughter that shook his shoulders, and he caught his breath enough to knock back the last of his beer.

His dark chuckle trailed off, but the smirk remained with one eyebrow cocked. “So he doesn’t care who you fuck? I guess if he hangs out with a whore, that should be obvious. But do you think he’d get jealous if he knew the reason you’ve not been calling him is so you can share a bed with me?”

“What the hell? That’s not—” I growled, but the rest of my argument was cut off by Penny wrapping her arms around my shoulders and squeaking excitedly in my ear.

“Eeeeedrys,” she squealed and tried to squeeze the breath from my lungs.

Matt and Jason were behind her. Jason was carrying a tray of drinks, which by the look of it included fresh beers for me and Trystan, and a round of what I suspected was tequila.

“Trystan,” Matt laughed as they all sat down at our table. “We’ve come to save you from Ide’s excessive campness.”

A pint, a shot, a wedge of lime, and a small packet of salt were dropped in front of me. I eyed the slammers with reluctance. Although frankly, their appearance was a welcome distraction from a conversation that had been teetering precariously close to ending in me and Trystan not speaking again. I looked up from the shots; Trystan wasn’t looking at me anymore, but the edges of his conceit remained in the creases at the corners of his eyes.

He was seriously deluded if he thought I’d not been sleeping around because of him.

“You guys coming out with us later?” Jason said. “We just saw Dan so I know you’re not busy, Ide.”

“Yeah,” Penny cooed as she grabbed my arm in mock begging. “It’s been ages since you came out with us, and I miss having someone to dance with.”

“And besides.” Matt grinned. “Surely we have to get Trystan laid before he starts getting confused.”

“Well there’s no worry of that happening,” Trystan laughed.

“Bit late,” I mumbled so only Trystan would hear. He just laughed again.

“Seriously, though, how?” Trystan said with a chuckle. “Unless northern girls are so different that they take you to
their
place? I think I’m already stepping on Ide’s toes enough.”

Which was a fricking understatement and a half.

“Ha-ha, threesome.” Matt grinned and my housemates burst out into fits of drunken laughter—probably at the thought of me with a girl; even I sniggered at the thought.

“Don’t boobs just get in the way? And how d’ye choose which hole t’ use?” I tried to sound serious, but the others were drunk enough that I didn’t need to try too hard.