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“No, just regular kitten videos.” Jack leaned against the sink. “He cried because they’re so cute and fluffy. Leo, what’s your policy on pets?”
Leo blinked. “Um…they’re probably not as destructive as the possums in the ceiling, so I guess they’re fine?”
Jack let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I think I promised him he could have a kitten. Actually, maybe I shouldn’t drink gin, either.”
“Maybe we should wait till we find out what’s happening with the repairs,” Leo said. “It would be cruel to get a cat and relocate it while the workmen are here. It might be noisy, and with a lot of people coming and going, what if it got outside?”
And this was why Tristan was falling for the guy. He was so fucking thoughtful. Whereas Tristan rarely thought past the next dick he wanted to suck—except, he found he didn’t actually want to suck anyone’s dick except Leo’s now.
Huh.
The revelation that he might enjoy monogamy was unsettling and exciting all at once. He’d always hated the idea of settling for one person when there were so many fun people out there. It was like being told he could only have one chocolate out of a Cadbury’s Selections box—why couldn’t he have all the chocolates? He deserved nice things—but with Leo it wasn’t like he was being forced into a choice he hadn’t wanted to make to begin with. No, it wasn’t settling when it came to Leo. It was winning. It felt like one of those emails from the Spanish National Lottery. Tristan didn’t even know he’d entered, but apparently he now had millions of euros. The difference was, there was nothing about Leo that was a scam. Leo was possibly one of the most genuine people Tristan had ever met. Eighteen-year-old Tristan would have been bored stupid by someone as honest and straightforward as Leo Fisher, but apparently, against all the predictions of anyone who knew him, Tristan had finally grown up. Honest and dependable and genuine weren’t synonyms for boring. They were incredible. Leo Fisher wanted to make him toast now, and in the future, and Tristan couldn’t believe how exciting that sounded.
Leo bumped his shoulder. “Earth to Tris?”
Tristan leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Sorry. I was just imagining Harry’s face when you tell him he’s allowed a cat.”
“Maybe don’t mention it yet,” Jack said. “He’ll be worse than a little kid at Christmas otherwise.”
Tristan could picture it. Harry would be like one of his preschool students on assembly day, all unstoppable excitement and a desperate need to wee every two minutes. Okay, maybe not that last part. The point was, Harry was going to be thrilled, and Leo was making it happen because he was decent and kind and thoughtful, and somehow, he still wanted to date Tristan. It wasn’t as though Tristan thought badly of himself at all. But he was self-aware enough to know that he didn’t tick many boxes on Leo’s Ideal Boyfriend List.
“He’s been jealous ever since Ambrose moved in with Liam,” Jack said. “Because Liam has that horrible cat.”
“Excuse you. Tobermory is a delight,” Tristan said. “But yeah, if we could get a cat that is like the exact opposite of him in every way, that would be perfect.” He leaned against Leo. “Ambrose was our flatmate before Jack. He actually started the whole Bad Boyfriend thing. Now he’s all respectable and living with his actual boyfriend in Potts Point.”
“His place is amazing,” Jack said, cracking an egg into a bowl. “Talk about moving up in the world.”
“Your landlord is right here, Jack,” Tristan reminded him.
Leo laughed. “Your landlord knows this place is a shitheap. Don’t worry.”
Jack turned to him, serious. “While Harry’s not here to get in a flap at the mention of it, where are we going to live while you’re having repairs done? He’s still half-convinced you’re going to sell the place out from under us, and we’ll end up homeless.”
Tristan rolled his eyes. Harry and Jack were so dramatic about the whole homelessness thing.
“Well,” Leo said. “I’m still figuring that out, but there’s the flat above the shop, if that’s okay. But it’s only one bedroom…” He flushed.
“Oh, I’m like Tobermory,” Tristan said. “I always land on my feet.”
“I was going to say you could stay with me?” The words came out of Leo in a rush. “I mean, if you wanted to. My place is… Well, it’s pretty small, but it has a couch if you didn’t want to— I mean, there’s no pressure or anything, but?—”
“Leo,” Tristan said, cutting him off before he tangled himself up completely, “I would love to stay with you—and not on your couch.”
Leo beamed, and the force of his happiness hit Tristan in the chest like a jolt of electricity. He beamed back. “Maybe after breakfast, we could?—”
“Go back to your place and have sex all day?” Tristan finished for him. He wasn’t sure if that was what Leo had been planning, but it sounded excellent to him.
Leo’s cheeks went an adorable shade of pink. “Um, yeah. We could do that.”
Jack slid an omelette onto a plate and set it in front of Leo. Tristan opened his mouth to object, but Jack said, “People who are letting Harry have a kitten take priority, Tris.”
“Oh, so Leo’s your favourite now?” Tristan asked, clutching at his chest.
“Yep,” Jack agreed cheerfully. “He’s the best.”
Tristan took in the sight of a grinning Leo, hair still tousled from sleep, shovelling omelette into his mouth. “Yeah,”he said softly, “he really is.”
It didn’t stop him from leaning over and stealing a forkful of omelette, though.
