Magic & Mistletoe (6 page)

She sat there grinning at him. “Someone’s got it bad.”

The car behind them beeped its horn, signalling the lights had changed to green, and Andrew hastily drove off. “Yeah.” He was unable to keep the smile off his face. “It was a good chat.”

Abi laughed at him and leaned over to pinch his cheek. “Awww.”

Andrew pushed her hands away. “Behave, or I’ll never pick you up again.”

When they pulled up outside her parents’ house, she glanced out of the window. Two miniature Christmas trees stood on either side of the door, decorated with red fairy lights. A wreath hung on the front of the door. It reminded Andrew of his mum and dad’s house.

Abi sighed. “I love them both, but I can’t wait to get my own place again.”

“That bad?”

“Ugh, I sound so ungrateful.” She ran a hand through her hair and then slipped her shoes back on. “They’ve been great, but I’m so used to doing my own thing. It’s just hard sometimes.”

Andrew felt for her. Abi had moved back home after splitting up with her boyfriend. She was only living with them until after Christmas, but even so. Andrew couldn’t imagine moving back home after living on his own for so long. Not that his parents would be too keen to have him back in their hair either, no matter how much they loved him. “Why don’t you stay over tomorrow night? I’ll take the sofa, and you can have my room.”

Abi’s eyes lit up, and Andrew grinned at her. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, course.”

She leaned over the centre console and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

“No problem. See you tomorrow. About eight o’clock?”

“Perfect. I’ll bring wine, and you can tell me all about Harry. In great detail this time.”

With that, she got out of the car and rushed over to the front door, waving over her shoulder.

Andrew drove away, feeling lighter than he had in a long while.

By the time Andrew drove into the car park on Friday night, it was already six forty-five. He let his head fall back against the headrest and closed his eyes. God, work had been non-stop from the second he got in.
Bloody Christmas shoppers
. Then there was an accident on the ring road, and he’d sat in traffic for the better part of an hour. The last thing he felt like doing was cooking dinner. Takeaway it was.

Abi wouldn’t mind—a change of scene was all she was after. Besides, the food from the Indian restaurant they ordered from always tasted great. With that decided, he got out of the car and walked around to the front entrance of his building. A quick glance up had him smiling at the Christmas lights in Harry and Jason’s window.

They’d even wrapped some around the low iron railing running across the bottom of the window. The curtains were open, but either the lights were off or they were turned low, and Andrew couldn’t see much inside. He wondered if they were in or out on the town somewhere.

The thought settled unpleasantly inside him. Even though he’d invited Harry round on Sunday night, they weren’t together or anything. Nothing was to stop Harry from picking someone up tonight if he wanted.

Andrew tried to shake it off, not wanting to sour the evening ahead before it had even started. So what if Harry had a little fun while he was out tonight? Andrew would have to make sure he had more fun on Sunday night. And he didn’t know for sure Harry was even out. For all Andrew knew, Harry could be tucked up on his sofa watching TV upstairs. Unlikely, but possible.

He stopped to pick up his mail, frowning in confusion when the first two letters were addressed to a Mr H. Thornton. It took him a second or two to realise they were Harry’s. He hadn’t paid much attention to Harry’s last name at the coffee shop yesterday, but he was pretty sure it was Thornton.

Andrew had two choices. He tapped the letters against his chin, thinking. Either he posted the letters back into Harry and Jason’s letterbox or he took them upstairs and hand-delivered them. His feet were already moving before he’d fully thought it through.

It would take two minutes tops to drop them off, say hello, and then leave. In no way was he using the letters as an excuse to check if Harry was at home. It was the neighbourly thing to do, that was all.

When he stood outside the door to flat 3b, it was obvious someone was in. Music filtered out into the hallway, and when Andrew knocked, he heard someone shout, “I’ll get it.” Not Harry, and it didn’t sound like Jason either.

The door opened to reveal Alex standing there, beer in hand. “Oh, hey.” His eyes widened, his gaze flicked upward, and he quickly stepped back and held up a finger. “Wait there.”

Then he shut the door in Andrew’s face.

Okay
. The door opened again, just as Andrew glanced up above his head to see what Alex had been looking at.
Oh
.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting—” Harry glanced up too. “—ah.”

Mistletoe
.

There was a huge spray of mistletoe above the door. How had he not noticed that before he knocked?

Harry bit his lip, a flush colouring his cheeks. It made Andrew want to reach out and cup his cheeks to see if they were hot. “Sorry about that.” He gestured up with a thumb. “It’s sort of a standing joke.” Harry glanced up at it again and licked his lips.

Andrew watched his tongue poke out and sweep across his bottom lip, and he made his decision. “I’m game if you are.” His stomach fluttered as Harry’s gaze instantly dropped to his mouth. “It is Christmas.”

“Yes, it is.” Harry grinned and leaned forward.

Somehow they both managed to lean the same way, then bumped noses in an awkward attempt to get it right. It ended up being the worst first kiss Andrew had ever had.

They pulled back and stared at each another.

“So that was—” Harry started.

“Yeah.” Andrew still had the letters clutched in his hand, and he thrust them at Harry, wanting to take the focus off that tragedy of a kiss. “Um, these were in with mine.”

Harry took them from him automatically, looking down to see what they were.

“Weird, right?” Andrew added when Harry continued to stare at them.

“Hmmm. I wonder how that could have happened.”

It sounded more like a sarcastic comment than a question, but Andrew didn’t mention it. “So, I guess I should let you get back to your guests.” Andrew waved in the direction he figured the living room was in, and when he looked down the hall, he saw three faces peering around the wall watching them.
Great
. They’d had an audience for this whole debacle. “Okay. I’ll see you Sunday night, then?” He hoped that one mangled kiss hadn’t put Harry off. They could do so much better than that, and Andrew would take his time showing him. But it would be somewhere other than a doorway with people watching.

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.” Harry gave him a small wave and stepped back, presumably to close the door.

“Nope!” Jason yelled, stopping them in their tracks. “I’m ashamed on both your behalves. You cannot seriously call that a kiss.” He shook his head.

Andrew should tell him to mind his own business, but he was too stunned that someone had called them out on it. So much for slinking away and forgetting about it.

“Jason,” Harry hissed. “Go away.”

“No chance.” Jason stopped beside Harry and slung an arm over his shoulder. “Even Lewis and Alex put on a better show than that, and they don’t fancy each other.”

Harry groaned and covered his face with his hands. Andrew knew how he felt. “Sorry about him.”

Jason clapped Harry on the arm and grinned. “I’ve had the unfortunate experience of seeing you in action, Harry, and I know you can do better.”

“
Jason
.” Harry dropped his hands and glared daggers at him, but Jason’s smile didn’t falter.

Jason gave Harry a gentle push so that he took a step closer to Andrew. “Now. I’m going to take those two back into the living room and close the door. While you two”—he waved a finger between Andrew and Harry—“try that again.”

True to his word, Jason marched back down the hallway and bundled the other two around the corner out of sight. When they heard the door close, Andrew met Harry’s gaze and smiled. “Well?”

CHAPTER FIVE

Harry closed his eyes and took a second to think. Melia wasn’t going to use her freaky magic to ruin this moment for him. “Yeah.” He cupped Andrew’s face in his hands. “I think we can do better.”

That first kiss had been awful. Seeing Andrew on his doorstep had surprised him, and then his nerves got the better of him. Harry liked kissing, he was good at it, and this time when he leaned in close, he tilted Andrew’s head so they fit together perfectly.

Soft lips met his, and Harry closed his eyes again. A quiet moan escaped as Andrew grabbed Harry’s hips and tugged until they were pressed together. Normally Harry had a couple of inches on Andrew, but in his socked feet and with Andrew in his work shoes, they were roughly the same height.

Andrew slid his thumbs under Harry’s T-shirt, finding bare skin along the top of his waistband, and he rubbed back and forth. That one small touch on either side of Harry’s body felt like electricity skating across his skin, lighting him up and sending shocks down his spine. This should have been their first kiss, not that sorry excuse they had managed the first time.

 Harry moved his hands back and buried his fingers in Andrew’s hair. He manoeuvred Andrew so he had his back to the wall just inside the door. Harry was broader across the shoulders, and it made it easy to crowd Andrew up against the wall and use his hips to pin him in place.

When they finally broke apart for air, Harry placed his hands on either side of Andrew’s head and grinned at him.

Andrew smiled back. “That was more like it.” He gave Harry’s hips a squeeze, his fingertips digging in.

Harry laughed and flinched backwards. “That tickles.” Of course Andrew did it again, but harder, and Harry fell against him, still laughing as his arms gave out. “Stop, stop!”

“Are you sure you want me to stop?” Andrew let go of Harry’s sides and grabbed his arse instead, rolling his hips as he pulled Harry towards him. Although neither of them were fully hard, the sudden friction made them both moan. Clearly a bit too loudly, because the living room door opened and Jason popped his head out, smirking.

“You were only supposed to kiss, not start fucking in the hallway.”

Harry turned his head to face him and hoped Jason could read the “piss off” expression he was trying to convey. Sadly it was like water off a duck’s back, and far from taking the hint, Jason came closer.

“Obviously the old mistletoe worked its magic second time around.” He winked at Harry, and Harry had to stifle the burst of hysterical laughter threatening to escape.

Glancing down at the letters he’d dropped on the floor, Harry conceded that yes, magic probably had been involved—they’d never had problems with their mail before now.

“So, are you two going to skulk around in the hall all night, or are you coming in to join the rest of us?” Jason gestured behind him where raised voices drifted out. “Football awaits.”

Harry sighed and reluctantly stepped away from Andrew. Apparently there’d be no more kissing for the time being. “Come in.” He moved to the side to let Andrew pass, but Andrew stayed put, looking torn. “What’s wrong?”

“I only came up to drop your mail off. I have, um, plans.”

Harry’s mood did a one-eighty. His stomach dropped and he struggled not to let it show. “Oh.”

Now he remembered Andrew mentioning something about that at the coffee shop yesterday. It wouldn’t be with another guy, though, surely? Andrew had invited Harry round for a home-cooked dinner on Sunday, and Andrew didn’t strike him as the type to date two different blokes in the same weekend.

But maybe he is?

For once Harry was in no danger of blurting out the wrong thing, because he had nothing to say. Asking who Andrew had plans with probably wouldn’t go down well, and Harry refused to come across as possessive after one kiss—the first one didn’t count. He glanced over his shoulder as a loud cheer erupted, and only then noticed that Jason had left them alone again. Thank God, the situation was awkward enough without witnesses.

“Okay—” Harry began at the same time as Andrew blurted out, “Abi’s coming round for dinner.”

Harry’s head snapped back around so fast his neck cracked. Both he and Andrew winced. “What did you say?” He massaged the now-painful spot between his shoulder and neck, and prayed he hadn’t pulled a muscle.

“My friend Abi’s coming around tonight to escape her parents for a while. I said I’d make her dinner and she could sleep over.”

Harry smiled at him, not caring how obvious he was being. “Is that the same friend you picked up from work last night?” He relaxed against the wall, feeling ten times better all of a sudden.

“Yeah.” Andrew smiled back at him, looking pleased that Harry remembered. Then he tilted his head, and his eyes narrowed slightly. “You just went from kicked puppy to Cheshire cat. Did you think I had a date tonight?”

Was this one of those times when the truth wasn’t the best policy? Harry shifted on the spot wondering whether to lie or come clean. An image popped unbidden into his head, of Melia in the woods saying, “The truth is always so much better.” Harry had no idea how the fuck she did that, but
fine
, he could take a hint. He glanced down and rolled his eyes, hoping she could see him from wherever she was watching from, because she clearly had some way of keeping tabs on him.

Taking a deep breath, he met Andrew’s gaze. “Yes. If I’m being honest, the thought had crossed my mind.”

Andrew’s look of surprise told Harry he hadn’t been expecting that answer, but it didn’t tell him whether that was a good thing or not. Then the corners of Andrew’s mouth lifted slightly and he took a step closer. “For the record, I’m not interested in doing the casual thing. Open relationships don’t work for me. Never have, never will.” He put his hands on Harry’s hips, and Harry shuddered. “I know we haven’t even been on a date yet or anything, but once I’m interested in a guy, I don’t go looking elsewhere.”