A Roll for Love Short Story
Lewis
Jason and I were lying in bed one Saturday morning at the start of July, two weeks before San Diego Comic Con, when Jason’s phone rang.
It was set to vibrate, just in case someone needed him for something to do with the production of Macbeth he was rehearsing for, but I’d really been hoping for one weekend of peace and quiet. The last few weeks had been ridiculously busy, and I just wanted a couple of days where Jason and I could spend vast amounts of time in bed doing nothing except enjoying each other’s company.
Jason rolled over and sat up, frowning as he picked up the phone. “Hello?” He listened for a moment, and I could hear a voice on the other end chattering excitedly. It sounded familiar but I was too sleepy to place it.
“Are you serious?” Jason asked, the lines on his face deepening. “That’s in… less than an hour. You could have given me some warning.”
I sighed, burying myself deeper under the duvet. It sounded like my plans were about to be uprooted. I wondered if Jason would have time for something quick and fun before he had to get up. I could definitely get him off in under ten minutes if necessary. And if I didn’t have to leave our bed, I could always spend the rest of the morning having some self-indulgent fun.
I’d even take pictures for Jason to enjoy later.
“Right, see you later,” Jason said. He threw the phone onto the duvet and flopped back onto his pillow. “For fucks sake.”
“Who was that?” I asked, sliding up to him and hooking my leg across his and wrapping my arm across his chest. We’d both fallen asleep naked last night, and Jason’s skin was deliciously warm against mine. My cock twitched against his hip as the memories from last night resurfaced—of Jason fucking me all over the sofa and then again over the end of the bed until I’d come so hard I’d almost blacked out, and Jason’s release had dripped down the backs of my thighs.
“Henry.” Jason sighed. “He wants to come stay.”
“When?” There was a sinking feeling in my stomach, as my brain played back the snippets of Jason’s conversation.
“He’ll be here at ten. Apparently he managed to get a last-minute tattoo slot with Izzy this afternoon, so he thought he’d surprise us with a visit.” Jason’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “He basically just wants somewhere to crash. I mean I don’t mind, but he could have given us more than forty minutes notice!”
“What time is it?”
“Nearly half-nine,” Jason said.
“Bollocks. There go my morning plans.” My brain was already firing up, churning out frantic lists of what I needed to do. One of the spare bedrooms was at least seventy percent finished, I just needed to put sheets on the bed and move some crap out of it. Or at least just stack it neatly by the wall. The other was still sparse, but if it was just Henry I wouldn’t need to worry about that one. But Henry had mentioned bringing Rosamund Jones with him in the past, because she wanted to be inked by Izzy too.
And it would be just like Henry to bring an extra guest without telling Jason. He wasn’t being a deliberate asshole, he just didn’t think. I guessed when you reached a certain level of fame, you stopped thinking about certain practicalities.
I’d need to get food too. And some extra drinks. I knew Henry drank coffee, but I wasn’t sure what else he liked.
“Is he bringing anyone else?” I asked, glancing up at Jason but not really focusing on his face.
“No, he said it’s just him.” Jason’s hand stroking soothingly up and down my back. “Don’t worry, you don’t need to go all out. We can just get a takeaway this evening, and I’ll pop up to Tesco or Waitrose and get some supplies.”
“Mmm, but–”
“No buts. If Henry is going to drop in unannounced then he’ll get what he’s given. This isn’t The Four Seasons.” Jason pressed a kiss to the top of my head, then gently rolled me over until I was lying on my back with him between my thighs, hovering over me with a wicked smile on his face. His cock brushed against mine and I groaned. Jason leant down and kissed me, his tongue teasing my mouth as he coaxed little moans out of me. He circled his hips again, slowly grinding his hardening cock against mine.
“Jason,” I moaned, my hands coming up to wrap around his shoulders and tangle in his hair, bringing his lips back to mine for more of his delicious kisses. I bucked my hips up, seeking more friction. His cock was leaking against mine, making everything just slick enough. We moved slowly against each other, frotting and grinding, trading deep kisses and soft moans.
“I love you,” I whispered, as the familiar heat of my impending orgasm began to spread across my skin. “So much.”
“I love you too.” Jason kissed me again, thrusting a little harder against me and sending a wave of pleasure through me. I gasped, chasing the sensation with my hips. Jason smirked and did it again, letting out a deep groan as he did. Our slow movements began to turn frantic as need and desperation flooded us.
“Fuck! I’m so close,” I said, breathing out the words against Jason’s mouth.
“Me too. Come for me. Make a mess for me.”
My body tensed and I cried out as heat flooded my body. My cock pulsed, drenching our skin with cum. Jason groaned, thrusting harder and faster into the slick mess between us. He came with a deep grunt, his cum mixing with mine and painting our stomachs.
He kissed me again as our breathing returned to normal.
“We better get up now,” he murmured. “I probably ought to shower before Henry gets here.”
“Mmm, I suppose I should too.” I was beautifully blissed out and a little too relaxed to care. Which had been Jason’s aim. Sneaky whatsit.
With another kiss, he rolled off me and climbed out of bed, handing me the box of tissues off his bedside table as he strolled towards the ensuite. I watched him go with my eyes firmly fixed on his ass.
When I heard the shower turn on, I made a notional attempt to clean my stomach and dick, because dried cum was not fun to scrub off, before reaching for my phone just to pass the time. I had a few things I needed to post across social media this weekend, and a couple of emails I wanted to respond to, but I’d largely tried to keep the next two days work free. One thing I did need to do was to check Edward was still alive, because I knew that with two weeks until San Diego he was probably spending every waking hour in his sewing room and glaring at stitches that were even a millimetre out of place.
Izzy and I had talked seriously about how we could stop Edward from working himself to the point of exhaustion. Edward had a terrible habit of trying to make everything perfect, even at the detriment to his own health. Izzy said he’d threatened to put a lock on the sewing room door and bar Edward from entering it, which I knew about because Edward had bitched about it to me. Until I’d reminded him of the time he’d pulled a coat apart three times because he’d convinced the stitching had been wonky, the last time being two days before an event, and he’d been so exhausted he’d nearly cried all weekend.
Edward had conceded I might have had a point.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it again though. Especially if Izzy was working and he was left unsupervised with a sewing machine.
Ten minutes later Jason appeared out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist. I sighed and put my phone down so I could spend as much time as possible ogling him before he got dressed. Which he did faster than I wanted him too.
“I’ll go make some coffee,” he said, leaning over the bed to give me a kiss. “Come down when you’re ready.”
“There are some of those croissants in a can in the fridge if you want to make some,” I said, finally sitting up and swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. “They only take ten minutes.”
“Is that a hint?”
“Yes.” I grinned. “It’s more than a hint. It’s a ‘please can I have croissants for breakfast?’.”
Jason smiled softly. It was the same smile that always made my heart melt. “For you, anything.” Then he turned and headed downstairs, leaving me as a little puddle on the bed.
Eventually I hauled myself up to get showered and dressed. I had no idea what time it actually was, but when I came out of the bathroom I heard the sound of the front door slamming and the sound of voices floating up from downstairs, along with the smell of baking croissants.
I dug a clean pair of denim shorts and a cute turquoise vest top out of the wardrobe, adding a pair of white socks, a matching blue jock—to tease Jason with later if we had the time and energy—and fluffing my hair to make sure I looked extra cute. Then I pottered downstairs.
I’d only expecting to see two people in my kitchen.
Instead there were three: Jason, Henry and a broad man with a shaved head who I didn’t recognise. Clearly Henry had lied when he’d said it was just him. Either that or he’d randomly collected someone off the street.
“Lewis!” Henry beamed, cutting Jason off from whatever he’d been saying and striding over to me to sweep me up in an enormous hug. “It’s so good to see you again.” He flashed me another of his mega-watt smiles, the kind that made most people melt at the knees. It was the sort of smile that made it easy to see why he was a star.
Henry was taller than Jason, with cheekbones that could cut glass and beautiful full lips. There was an ease and charm to his personality as well, and I could see what Jason meant when he said Henry flirted with everyone that walked. I could also understand why most people wouldn’t turn him down.
But I’d never found him as attractive as I did Jason. Jason intrigued me, whereas Henry almost unnerved me. Like I couldn’t quite get a read on him at times. Maybe fame had made him more guarded.
“It’s nice to see you too,” I said. “I thought you said you were coming alone.” I glanced over to the other man standing by the kitchen counter, drinking coffee from a Dungeons and Dragons themed mug that just said “Sarcasm +5” on the side.
“I have, technically.”
“Hen do you need to go back to primary school?” Jason asked, opening the oven door to extract a tray of perfectly baked croissants. “Coming alone means one person and there are two of you.”
Henry waved his hand and picked up a mug off the side. “Details. Anyway, I wanted to come alone but apparently the studio are worried about my safety, so I hired a bodyguard. This is Cas.”
“Hey,” Cas said, in a low, rumbling voice. Jason looked between them.
“And why,” Jason added, fixing his brother with a firm look. “Were they worried about your safety.”
“It’s nothing.” Henry’s voice had gone oddly high pitched.
“You nearly got stabbed,” Cas said, sipping his coffee again, as if casually unaware of the ramifications of that sentence. Or maybe he was just here to bust Henry’s chops.
“You what?” Jason shouted. “HENRY!”
“I didn’t get stabbed!” Henry threw up his hand and glared at Cas. “Someone tried to follow me home while I was in LA, they apparently had a knife. And a gun. But it was fine.”
“That’s worse right, you do get how that’s worse?”
“You sound just like Gabi. I got such an earful.” He sighed. “Frankly I think the studio is being overcautious but I’m not going to argue with her.”
“Gabi Martinez?” I asked.
“Yes, do you know her?” Henry asked, clearly desperate to change the subject.
“We’ve spoken a couple of times.” She’d been the producer who’d invited Edward and Izzy to walk the red carpet of City of Ash and the third film, Throne of Embers, which had only been released in April. I could well believe her chewing out Henry for his behaviour. “She’s definitely not someone you fuck around with.”
“And I’d have said the same thing,” Jason said, glowering at his brother as he reached into the cupboard to pull out a couple of plates, then into a nearby drawer for some knives. He’d already put butter, jam and Nutella on the side near him, including my all-time favourite black cherry conserve. That plus Nutella was heaven. I sidled over to near Jason and began to put croissants on a plate.
“Fine, let’s just all agree that I was wrong.” Henry huffed dramatically then returned to sipping his coffee. Over the top of his mug, I saw Cas grinning.
“So,” I said, in a bid to return to conversation to slightly calmer waters. “What time is your appointment?”
“Three,” Henry said. “Izzy said it’ll be his last appointment of the day, plus apparently the shop is very small, so he doesn’t think they’ll be many other people around. Nice and discreet.”
“It’s tiny.” I ripped my croissants in half and began to slather them with jam and Nutella. Jason raised an eyebrow and grinned. He’d never quite understood why I felt the need to have more Nutella than pastry. “And you’d never know it was there unless you were looking for it. It’s one of those places you’d just walk straight past.”
“Perfect.” Henry grinned, sliding behind Jason to steal a croissant off his plate.
“Do you mind? That’s my breakfast.”
“You should have gotten up earlier.”
“It’s my weekend off! And I wasn’t expecting guests.”
“You said I could come and visit whenever I wanted.”
“That usually means giving me notice. This isn’t a hotel, you can’t just turn up whenever you want.”
I grinned and stuffed half a croissant into my mouth, watching the pair of them bicker. They hadn’t seen each other for a while so this seemed par for the course. Beside me Cas was watching them intently.
“Are they always like this?” he muttered.
“Yes and no. It’s been a while since they saw each other. And finding out your brother nearly got stabbed and didn’t tell you isn’t the best way to start your Saturday.” Cas hummed and nodded. “Do you want some more coffee?”
“That’d be great, thanks. Are you okay to take us down to the shop later?”
“Sure. And Izzy’s great—he’s met Henry before, and Harrison, the owner, is ridiculously laid back.” I took his mug and began making more coffee. Jason and Henry seemed to have calmed down, and the conversation had shifted towards Jason’s upcoming production of Macbeth.
“Henry said.” Cas took the coffee. “Said Izzy is the only one who’s told him no.”
I laughed, oddly unsurprised by this nugget of information. “Izzy already had a boyfriend at that point. He just hadn’t realised it.”
“It’s always the way.”
***
We spent the rest of the morning hanging out at our house, drinking coffee and playing board games. Jason and I had built up a solid library over the past couple of months, with everything for adorable little two players that took ten minutes to play, to things that took a more leisurely hour or so.
Henry hadn’t played many games, so we stuck to simple things, introducing him and Cas to Carcassonne and then Isle of Skye—which was similar but was more about building personal islands than putting a larger map together.
Despite playing it regularly, Jason still sucked at Carcassonne, getting too caught up in building large cities he couldn’t finish. Henry wasn’t much better, while Cas casually racked up points in a way that made me wonder if he could see through the backs of the tiles. He did the same in Isle of Skye.
We didn’t have much in the house for lunch, so after one game I nipped out to grab some supplies, hitting up a local bakery which make the most amazing sandwiches and cakes to takeaway. When I got back, the three of them were deep into a game of Pandemic, all muttering quietly while throwing dark looks at the brightly coloured cubes scattered across the board.
I chuckled to myself and left them to it, plating up the sandwiches and throwing some crisps I’d bought into a bowl, while tapping out a quick text to Izzy to let him know Henry was with us, and mentioning Cas as well. I’d just finished when some disgruntled cries and curse words floated through from the living room.
Clearly the three of them had not managed to save the world.
We ate the sandwiches while catching up about life in general, with Henry regaling us with tales from the read throughs of his latest film. He’d been cast in a big superhero franchise a couple of years ago which was about to go into the filming of the second movie. The first one, which was due to hit screens next week, would be more of a standalone, introductory movie but the second would more of an ensemble cast.
The upcoming release was the reason that Henry was back in the UK, and from the way he talked about it, his promo schedule was brutal. Print interviews, television guest slots, radio shows, party appearances and the premiere in the middle—it sounded hellish. But Henry didn’t seem phased by any of it.
It made me realise how different Henry and Jason really were. They both loved acting, but Jason didn’t want any of the circus that came with being a star. He’d have to do some press for Macbeth but it wouldn’t be nearly on the same level. There’d be no back to back premieres in six countries, no countless late night talk show slots where he’d have to pretend to laugh at the presenter’s jokes, no endless interviews where he’d have to always be “on”, carefully guarding every word that came out of his mouth.
Henry seemed to thrive off the attention. For Jason, it was just a crushing weight.
“When’s your opening night?” Henry asked, breaking an enormous slab of millionaire’s shortbread into pieces and licking the caramel off his fingers.
“Third of September,” Jason said. “It’s a Friday.”
Henry hummed and pulled out his phone, tapping out a note. “Perfect, I’ll make sure I’m there. Ros is going to come too.”
“I thought the tickets had sold out,” Jason said.
Henry shrugged. “Sometimes it’s worth being famous.”
“Henry–”
“Nope, no arguments. I’m going to be there. Besides, they always have spare tickets for things like press. I’m sure they can squeeze us in somewhere.” He grinned and finished tapping out something on his phone before returning to his shortbread. Jason sighed but I knew he wouldn’t be too upset. He’d mentioned that he’d love Henry to be there, but he had no idea if it would be feasible with his schedule.
“Fine,” Jason said. “But you have to be nice about it—no brutal reviews. This is the first time I’ve done theatre in years.”
“What? That’s rich coming from you. The most you’ve ever given me is a three! You gave my performance in The Night Hours a two. I got a fucking BAFTA for that.”
***
A little later, Henry, Cas and I left Jason at home to tidy up, while I led the two of them down the hill to the tattoo parlour.
Henry had conceded to wear a hat and a pair of sunglasses, which seemed to work better as a disguise than I’d initially given it credit for. I’d assumed it only worked in Hollywood movies, and that was mostly because it was part of the plot, but nobody gave Henry a second look as we strolled down the lower part of Steep Hill.
“Technically I’m not supposed to be here,” Henry said. “I’ve gone rogue for the weekend.”
“So nobody apart from Cas knows you’re here?” I asked, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin. Maybe I’d send Jason a text and suggest we barbecued this evening. It wouldn’t take long to get some bits for it.
“Nobody. Izzy had this slot open so I flew in early and rejigged some things so I could come up. I just needed a day off before the whole press tour circus kicks off.” Henry grinned. “And I wanted to see your house. I can’t believe you managed to get my brother to decorate.”
“He’s pretty handy when he wants to be,” I said with a smile, remembering all the ways Jason and I had gotten distracted over the past few months when we’d been doing up the house. I tried not to let my expression reflect my thoughts, but I knew I’d failed when Henry pulled a face.
“Whatever you’re thinking about my brother, I don’t want to know.” I laughed and beside us Cas snorted.
We meandered a little further along the cobbled streets, with Henry stopping now and then to peer into the shop windows. I led them down a small side street, to a black door with a faded sign above it. The sign’s pain was peeling and the golden letters that read “Tattoo” were weathered and chipped. Cas stared, and slowly one eyebrow raised, like he was trying to work out whether I was shitting him or not.
“Here we are,” I said. “I know it looks like a piece of shit outside, but trust me, the inside is better.” I kept telling Izzy that he and Harrison needed to do something about the outside, but he just said it was ‘on the list’. I thought he secretly had a soft spot for the dilapidated sign because it made the shop almost like a hidden gem—something most people dismissed until they stepped inside.
I opened the door and ushered them inside. Izzy was already waiting, chatting to Harrison whose hair was currently a shocking neon yellow. It didn’t take long to do the introductions, with Henry pouring all of his charm in every sentence. Poor Harrison was definitely a little star struck, but Izzy seemed non plussed. That was Izzy though. I wondered if there’d be anyone famous enough to make him tongue tied.
I left them to it, giving Cas my number in case he needed my help getting back to the house later.
When I got home, I found Jason wrestling with some sheets in the spare bedroom. He’d stacked some of the assorted boxes—which were just filled with stuff we hadn’t found homes for—along the wall and hoovered the floor. It didn’t look too bad.
“I had a thought,” he said, as he finished shaking out the duvet which was now encased in a cover that had geometric dinosaurs printed on it in grey, yellow and teal. “Where’s Cas going to sleep?”
Shit. I hadn’t gotten that far. The leftover forth bedroom, which we’d had vague plans of turning into another spare room, was currently very sparse. There was a single bed in there, which I’d bought when I’d gone slightly overboard with Jason’s credit card while furnishing the house. But nothing else. No curtains. No bedding. Nothing.
“Bugger. Do we have anything spare?” My brain was already racing and trying to remember what was in the airing cupboard.
“I don’t think so?” Jason said as he finished making the bed.
“Okay, we can make a quick trip to Dunelm before they get back. It’s up near Tesco and Waitrose too so we can stop and get some additional supplies for dinner and breakfast. I forgot to ask them how long they’re staying. And if they have any allergies. Do you think Henry would answer if we rang him? Cas has got my number but I forgot to get his. Do you know what Henry’s getting? I’m just wondering if he’s going to be one hour or three, because if it’s only an hour then one of us ought to stay here to make sure they can get back in.” I took a deep breath, my brain preparing to spill more thoughts into the void. Jason wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to his chest, pressing a kiss to my forehead.
“It’s okay, we can get this sorted. I’ll text Henry. You make a list of what we need. And before we go we’ll just measure the window in there to make sure we get curtains that are the right size,” he said. “And as for food, I know what Henry likes and you asked Cas about allergies before you went to get sandwiches. He didn’t have any.”
The memory resurfaced, as if my brain had suddenly retrieved it and was waving it in front of me. Like a dog with a stick that it was proudly presenting.
“I remember.” I smiled, one of the many little weights on my chest suddenly lifting. This was why I hated unplanned visits from people, or spontaneous trips, or anything I couldn’t plan for. If someone sprang something on me, my brain would immediately start going into hyperdrive trying to organise everything. Of course, it was different if my brain was the one concocting impulsive excursions but that was because I’d initiated it instead of having it sprung on me.
It wasn’t like I wasn’t pleased to see Henry. I just wished he’d given us a little more notice.
Twenty minutes later, armed with a list, window measurements and the knowledge that Henry’s appointment would take at least a couple of hours, Jason and I jumped into the car and headed for the north of Lincoln.
First stop was Dunelm Mill for some soft furnishings, which I zipped around at top speed, dragging a bemused Jason along with me. We found a pretty pair of duck egg blue curtains, that reminded me of both a frock coat and tea service that Edward owned, and some bed sheets which were similar. I threw a duvet, some pillows and a couple of decorative cushions into the trolley alongside them, before balancing a fluffy cream rug, a lightshade, a bedside lamp, and a small bin on the top.
“We don’t have a bedside table though,” Jason said, pointing at the lamp.
“We can get one from Argos or B&M Bargains,” I said. “There’s both on the other side of the car park. We should probably get a plug bank too, so Cas has room for several chargers if he needs them. We need more towels too.”
“They’re only here for one night,” Jason reminded me, putting his hand around my waist and pulling me to a stop. “They’ll live. And if not, they can go to the Premier Inn.”
I laughed. “Can you imagine Henry at Premier Inn?”
“He’d never let me forget it. But he’d probably like the breakfast buffet.”
We left Dunelm ten minutes later with several large bags that filled the boot of the car, before adding a cheap bedside table we’d found in B&M. Jason may have had money, but I didn’t want to waste it. I wasn’t going to be one of those boyfriends who spent their other half’s money like water. A bedside table from B&M would do just fine. Especially for the guest room.
After that we headed for Tesco, because it was closest, and spent forty minutes filling the trolley with food and drink. We’d decided to barbecue, because the weather was gorgeous, and as we wandered round I made a mental note to get everyone else over for another one in the near future. Maybe after Comic Con.
It was a bit of a squish getting everything back in the car, but somehow we managed to make everything fit. It did take us a couple of trips to get everything inside the house though. Then it became a bit of a mad dash to get everything ready before Henry and Cas returned.
“You know,” Jason said, as he hung the curtains in the spare room while I finished making the bed. “We’ve got a ton of food, do you want me to text Izzy and see if he wants to bring Edward round? We can ask Leo and Jay too. And see if Emily and Daniel are free.”
“Are you sure? Won’t Henry mind? I mean he did come to see you and I don’t want him to feel like he has to suddenly be in the spotlight.”
Jason’s brow furrowed. “Point taken. I’ll ask Henry when he gets back and if he’s happy, I’ll see if anyone else is free. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good to me,” I said, shoving a pillow into a case. “As long as Henry’s happy and doesn’t feel like we’re forcing him into the situation. I don’t want him doing it just to be polite.”
“Promise.” Jason stepped off the chair he’d been standing on, looking at his handiwork. “They don’t look too bad, right?”
“They’re perfect!”
We’d barely finished tidying everything away when Henry and Cas returned. Henry’s grin was a mile wide, while Cas watched him carefully—as if he expected Henry to do something he shouldn’t.
The tattoo was gorgeous—an intricate geometric pattern that rippled down Henry’s side. He kept lifting his t-shirt to look at it, as if he couldn’t believe it was really there. I’d seen a couple of examples of Izzy’s work, but never this close up. It made me realise exactly why he was so popular.
I prepped food while Henry talked about his afternoon, singing Izzy’s praises and saying how much he couldn’t wait to come back. He’d gotten Izzy to take a load of photos and promised to share them on his Instagram as soon as he was back in London. I made a mental note to prepare Izzy and Harrison to be overwhelmed. They weren’t going to have slots open for the next year.
“You know,” Jason said to Henry, as he carefully rolled out some dough from a bread mix we’d bought, so we could make cheesy garlic and herb tear and share bread. “We’ve got a ton of food, if you want I can see if Izzy wants to join us? He can bring his boyfriend too.”
“Oh the other cosplayer?” Henry asked. “The one Izzy turned me down for.”
I laughed. “That’s him.”
“Definitely.” Henry laughed. “I want to meet the man who bested me.”
“You are incorrigible,” Jason said, shaking his head.
“And?”
“And nothing.” Jason grinned, scattering copious amounts of cheese over the large rectangle of dough in front of him. “I’ll ask them.”
Izzy said he’d love to come for dinner, and that he’d drag Edward because it would be “good for him to get out of the fucking sewing room”. Jay had mentioned trying to drag Edward out for a few hours to help at The Lost World, and I wondered if he’d been successful or whether Edward had been holed up for the whole day.
Either way I agreed with Izzy that a break would do him good.
We ended up asking Leo and Jay as well, but they’d already planned to have a low-key evening together, so they decided to skip out.
I was just setting charcoal alight and poking the smouldering packages when Edward and Izzy arrived. Izzy was wearing another of his bright floral shirts, while Edward had gone for a pale green and gold coat with his hair braided into an intricate crown. It made him look more elven than usual.
There were a lot of hugs exchanged, and everyone poured out into the back garden to sit on the rather gorgeous garden sofas that Jason and I had recently acquired. Jason made a jug of Pimms, and put some snacks out, while he and I bustled around taking care of the food. Every time I went into the garden Izzy, Henry, Edward and even Cas were engaged in what seemed to be a lively conversation.
It was one of those perfect and wonderful evenings I’d always dreamt about—friends and family together, eating food, chatting and just… living. Once upon a time, I’d never thought I’d get to have anything like this. Now, my life was the fairy tale I’d wished it would be. I had a boyfriend who loved me, and who I adored, a beautiful house, amazing friends, and a loving family on both sides. I couldn’t wait to see what the future would bring.
Much later, when the food had been eaten and we’d waved a slightly tipsy Edward and Izzy off, and directed Henry and Cas to their rooms, Jason and I finally collapsed into bed.
“So,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. I sighed happily, resting my head against his bare chest. “Not quite what we had planned for today.”
“No, but it was still good. Very good.” I tilted my head to look up at him, and he put his hand on my jaw to draw me towards him.
“Agreed.” He kissed me gently. “However I get to spend time with you is always perfect.” Another kiss. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
We lay there, exchanging soft kisses while the moon rose outside the window, as the day drew to a close. I didn’t think I’d ever been so happy.
