Sid leaned forward and tapped Dante’s temple. “You think you’re all locked up, but you talk to me like we’ve been friends for years.”
Dante swallowed, intensely aware of Sid’s closeness in the middle of the busy shopping district. “You cast a fucking spell on me when we met. I thought I knew myself; now look at me.”
Sid grinned. “Go get the olive oil. I want to go home.”
The lightness Dante craved came back in spades, eclipsing the bullshit he’d let overwhelm him since he’d left Sid’s bed that morning. He grinned back, hardly recognising the sensation as it split his face open. Then he rose and made tracks to the fancy health food shop where Sid apparently bought his olive oil.
There were six different types. Dante narrowed it down to two and bought both, so eager to return to Sid that the heart-hammering anxiety at being away from him didn’t seem to hurt so much.
He returned to the bench and brandished the bottles.
Sid laughed. “You keep one. Use that seven quid oil on that forty-pence pasta. I’m telling you it’s fucking magic.”
“I believe you.”
“You should. I don’t lie.”
Dante pulled Sid to his feet. “I know.”
“Yeah?” Sid leaned closer. “So, would you believe me if I told you what’s gonna happen when we get home?”
“Probably, but don’t tell me. I like surprises.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Maybe it’s time I tried, then.”
Sid’s car was a ten-minute walk away. They hustled back and drove home without Sid yelling. Apparently being horny was a cure for chronic road rage. Who the hell knew?
Back on the estate, Sid parked and led the way through the forest while Dante studied him from behind and tried to live in the moment. He’d never been nervous about hooking up before, but everything about Sid was different, from his kiss to his wicked hands and his gentle smile when he turned beneath the canopy of trees to find Dante watching him.
Sid stopped walking.
Dante caught up and brought them chest to chest. “You want a daylight repeat?”
Sid snorted. “No chance. I’m not into that shit either. Just wanted to do this.”
He snatched a kiss from Dante’s willing mouth, then spun around and kept walking.
Dante stared after him, lips tingling. Sid was out of sight before he pulled himself together enough to move.
He caught up with him in the yard. It was the afternoon, but the working day hadn’t ended yet. Staff milled around, smiling at Sid and nodding, sometimes, at Dante.
Dante ignored them all and followed Sid to his bungalow. “Do you want me to move the echinacea to—”
Sid opened his front door with a bang. “Get inside.”
Dante stepped into the bungalow and shut the door behind him.
Sid was already walking towards his bedroom, shedding his T-shirt as he went.
More nerves hit Dante, but the good kind, not the scratchy kind that made his head throb and his stomach churn. These dragonflies were gentle and sweet, even as the hot shame of not having a clue what to do next burnt his soul.
He followed Sid, pausing in the doorway as Sid turned to face him, bare-chested and flushed.
Dante licked his lips. “What do you want?”
Sid came closer and tugged Dante’s hands from the doorframe. “Anything. Nothing. Just lie down and kiss me for a while?”