Merry Measure - Lily Morton Page 0,67

pays dividends. We’d then had to message the others and put the meal back by an hour as the only thing we were capable of was falling into bed and breathing heavily.

“Did you enjoy it?” he asks, a smile still tugging at his lips.

“I think my screaming might have given the game away.”

He chuckles and hugs me. “We haven’t exactly seen a huge amount of Amsterdam,” he says thoughtfully.

“We should come back in the spring,” I say idly.

“It’s a date,” he says, and I stare at him. “What?” he asks. “Is my hair messy?”

“Even if it were, it would still look unfairly beautiful,” I inform him and smile when he flushes. He’s adorable. I stroke his arm. “I just like that you look ahead and see us together.”

The lift stops at a floor and we move to the back as two couples get on talking loudly to each other. He leans back against the lift wall and draws me into him so my back rests against his chest. His hands fall to bracket my hips, long fingers stroking under my jumper and across my bare skin. It makes me shudder. “I do see that. Do you?” he says in a low voice.

I nod. “I want this to work,” I whisper.

“Then it will, because I want the same.”

I twist my head to look at him. “You sound very sure.”

He smiles. It’s warm and affectionate. “I am very sure, which is new to me. I just have this feeling that this was meant to happen.”

The lift pings and we straighten as the doors open into the lobby. As soon as we step out, Bee is throwing himself into my arms. “I’m so pleased,” he says happily. “You’ll be brilliant together.”

Freddy and my brother are greeting Jack, and even as I watch, Freddy grabs Jack and ruffles his hair. Jack’s smile is shy and warm, and tiny birds flutter in my stomach.

“Do you think so?” I ask, sudden nerves seizing me.

Bee stares at me. “Of course. Why? Don’t you?”

“Oh, I do,” I say fervently. “But I’m not his usual type.”

He pats my shoulder. “I think that’s part of the attraction. You’re utterly different from anyone he’s ever been with.”

“I know I’m clumsy and a bit scatty.”

“I wasn’t talking about that,” he says reproachfully. “You’re warm and real, and he feels safe with you.”

“How do you know that?”

He grins. “He told Tom.”

“I knew Tom looked smug. Is he really okay with it?”

Bee nods. “Of course he is. Now that he knows that Jack isn’t just shagging you for a bit of Christmas fun.”

“I’m probably more of a guaranteed year-round shag,” I say, but unfortunately it’s far too loud, and the people nearby get the full brunt. “Shit,” I say. They give me a wide berth as they walk by, as if my sluttiness might be catching.

We walk outside and I take a deep breath of the night air. It’s cold and crisp. I look around me. I’m going to miss seeing this view. Diana comes up next to me. “I don’t really know you well yet, Arlo,” she says. “But I have to say that I’m extremely glad that Jack picked you and not that dick from today.”

I laugh. “It’s not the best compliment I’ve ever had, but a boy must work with what he’s got. How was Steven on the brewery tour?”

She smiles evilly. “Fred paid for the group to have a private tour and slipped the bloke a hundred euros to take his time.”

I break into laughter, and Jack, Freddy, and Tom wander over. “Alright?” Fred says, hugging me.

“Fine,” I gasp because his grip is tight.

He steps back. “So, you and Jack?”

“You okay with that?” I ask. Jack slings his arm over my shoulder. I thought I’d feel a bit shy being so obviously together in front of curious eyes, but the surprise is how easy it feels.

Freddy looks at us, his eyes bright and wise. “Yeah,” he says. “Course, I am. You’re one of us, and besides, at least with you, we’re free of the possibility of another nun-in-the-Louvre incident.” Bee groans, and Fred laughs and claps his hands together. “Last night, folks. Let’s get it on.”

And we do. We hop from bar to bar, downing shots. We start in Reguliersdwarsstraat, a street which is home to the gay community and where a multitude of pride flags flap in the wind, and the music is loud and the crowd louder. Then we start back towards the hotel, stopping to admire the