sliding to later. What they were going to do, along with how, where… Who’d be on top? How would they position themselves? Did Ink swallow? Can I? Would it hurt if he let Ink fuck him? Do I want him to? Oh fuck, yes! His cock was pushing hard against his zip. Too much thinking was painful… Shit.
Finally, the film was over, the credits were rolling and Ink stood up.
“We have to wait,” Tay mumbled.
Ink sat down again. “What’s the matter?”
Then the lights went up and Tay groaned. “Look at me! How am I supposed to move without getting arrested? A blind man on a galloping horse can’t miss this.”
“Ah.” Ink chuckled. “Why don’t you order the Uber? If we’re lucky, there’ll be no blind men on galloping horses. Just in case, untuck your shirt.” He held out Tay’s crutches.
Tay fiddled with his phone. “White Prius, ETA 3 minutes.” He pushed to his feet and yanked his shirt out of his trousers before he grabbed his crutches.
“Was there some sexy bit in the film that I missed when I blinked?” Ink asked as they made their way to the exit. “Or was it the aliens? They were pretty hot. I quite liked Kai, but Rowe was cute too. He had a beautiful arse.”
“Keep annoying me and I’ll be okay in a minute.”
Ink laughed. “Come on.”
They emerged from the cinema to find the Uber pulling in.
“Can you eat pizza?” Ink asked as the car set off.
“Yes. Why?”
“You don’t like tomatoes, so I wondered.”
“A thin layer of tomato sauce is okay. Mum bought a couple of pizzas. They’re in the freezer.”
“Not sure I could eat a whole one.”
“We’ll share.”
“Okay. What time do you have to be at the hospital tomorrow?”
“Four thirty. The doctor’s run late each time I’ve been. I want to take you out for a meal after. Into London. Think Dog will be okay for a few hours?”
“We could feed him early. He won’t complain.”
THE CAR PULLED UP ON Rimmington Road. “Thanks,” Tay said to the driver.
Ink climbed out and came round to Tay’s side, but he managed to get out without help.
“You’re making me redundant.” Ink brushed his hand between Tay’s shoulder blades.
Tay froze on the pavement. “My legs have stopped working. Help!”
Oh God. Did he need to pretend he was making slower progress so Ink would stay?
Once they were through the front door, Tay checked the table to see if there was any mail. The postman pushed it through the letterbox and whoever found it, put it on the table. There was a postcard from Southampton from his mum and dad. His mum had written This ship is HUGE! Lost your dad twice already. xx Tay smiled.
“I’ll let Dog out.” Ink unlocked the door of the flat and held it open for Tay.
Dog skidded on the floor as he raced to the back door. Tay went into the kitchen and put food in Dog’s bowl. By the time Ink and Dog came back, Tay had taken a pizza from the freezer, unwrapped it and turned on the oven.
“You really are making me redundant,” Ink said behind him.
“There’s a lot I need you to do for me.” He just needed to pluck up enough courage to ask.
“I ought to wash your sheets. Do you have any spare ones?”
“In the wardrobe.”
“I’ll put a load of laundry on, okay?”
Tay felt as if Ink was pulling away from him and he didn’t know why. What had all that flirting in the cinema been about? Something told him that if he tried to reel Ink in, ask him too many questions or the wrong questions, he’d run so hard he’d break the line and vanish from his life. Tay didn’t know why he was so certain about that, but he was, and he had no idea how to stop it from happening. Offer Ink money to stay? But that wasn’t something Tay wanted to do because it would change the nature of their relationship.
Except, that was their relationship. He might not have paid Ink yet, but that was why he was here. His paid helper. So he had to find a way to make Ink want to stay beyond needing the money. Pretend to be making less progress than he was until he’d changed Ink’s mind.
By the time Ink came back into the kitchen, the pizza was almost done, and for once, Tay’s stomach rumbled in hunger.
“Smells great,” Ink said.
“Could you slice it up, please? And get us something to drink?”
Ink slid it