bedroom, I mean. ‘That bohemian room’, one of them called it,” she said. “And another caller called it ‘unique’, instead of full of Mum’s tat. Who knew that would be what people would be prepared to pay the most for?”
Jude did, after St Ives. “Should we?” he asked, aware even as he spoke that he sounded strangled. “Should we let it out like the others?”
For a moment she looked all of fourteen again, instead of a businesswoman. “What do you think?”
Letting go was still so hard. Only seeing her eyes well let him. A line mooring him to the reunion he’d hoped for with their parents finally uncoiled, slipping through fingers that he couldn’t clasp any longer. “They’d understand,” he said, his voice now a dry rasp. “They’d want us to do whatever we thought was best. Best for us, not for them. Whatever we can live with, long-term, Lou.” And this was a gift Trevor’s postcards had offered. “They were happy. Despite everything. They were happy at the end, and they’d want us to do whatever made us happy as well.” He waited as Louise blinked fast a few times. “You want to stay here, don’t you? At the Anchor? Even if it’s different to how they ran it?”
“Yes.” Louise blotted her face with a tea towel. “Of course I do. And of course I’d rather I didn’t have to run it without them. Not yet, anyway.” It was her turn to struggle to speak. “I thought there would be more years.”
Jude tugged the cloth away and surveyed her face. The same passion his parents had for the Anchor was right there on its surface. “Then we should go ahead and let out their room. Ask twice as much for it as any of the others.”
“My room too,” Louise said, rushing to add, “Might as well make hay while the sun shines. M-Marc said I could stay at the gallery with him for the summer. ”
“Just for the summer?” Jude could hardly tease her when sharing the boatshed with Rob was the best part of this whole situation. If Marc gave her even a fraction of the same comfort, Jude would do anything to help her grab it while he was home. “Or for longer?”
Lou looked up, most of her make-up cried off, and she nodded.
“Then let’s all four of us make a start tomorrow.”
After Louise left for the night, Rob found Jude still leaning against the sink in the kitchen, the last of the soapsuds gone. He didn’t speak. Instead, he corralled Jude, standing behind him like Lou had, only Rob reached around to unbutton his chef’s jacket, slipping a hand inside and under his T-shirt to map Jude’s belly and chest. His mouth was as warm as his palm and roaming fingers, lips soft at the side of his throat while his hold on Jude’s hip was firm. He moved his other hand even lower.
“H- hello to you, too,” Jude stuttered, his cock firming fast under the grazing press of Rob’s palm, his inhale sharp when Rob let go of his hip to tug at his belt, unfastening it fast.
Jude turned in Rob’s arms. “You in a rush for some reason?”
Rob didn’t answer, the residual cognac flavour heady rather than cheap when shared via a deep kiss, his mouth opening right away, nothing light or teasing about the insistent, slick slide of his tongue or the grip he now had on Jude’s hair, hemming him against the counter with an intent that had Jude’s knees weakening. It felt like hours rather than minutes before they broke for breath, Jude’s chest rising and falling as fast as Rob’s.
“Did you fix the bed?” Rob asked, pupils huge despite the kitchen’s bright light. Jude nodded. Rob took his hand and pulled, crowding him against the front door when Jude stopped to lock it. He said, “Come on,” almost in a growl. The same happened at the boat shed door too.
“Not that I’m complaining,” Jude said, breathless again. “But I’d move a whole lot faster if you weren’t doing such a good impression of a limpet.” Rob’s grip on him only tightened, his face now pressed to Jude’s throat. “Hey. I’m not going anywhere, you know?” Jude said, tilting Rob’s face so he could see it washed pale in the moonlight. “You okay?”
Rob’s hold loosened, his exhale a shudder. He said, “Yeah. Come on, Jude. Hurry.” Then he backed off, pulling his shirt over his head even before the door shut