AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We walk into his room and he slowly shuts the door behind him, turning slowly to meet my gaze. ‘Maggie…’ he whispers deeply, our hands grazing.
‘Can I kiss you now?’ I murmur. But I don’t wait for permission. I pull his arm towards my body until his lips meet mine. He leans into it, reciprocating tenderly but I feel his whole body relax, exhaling with a low sigh of satisfaction. I put my arms around his neck, an urgency drawing myself closer to him, his body arched over mine, his hands pulling at the back of my jumper, searching for skin. He spins me so my back is against the wall and he starts to raise my jumper and T-shirt together, urging me to raise my arms until I’m standing there in my bra and jeans, my body flinching against the cold of the wall. He takes off his jumper and T-shirt then smiles at me as he puts an arm to my back, unclasping my bra strap, pulling my straps slowly down my arms. I can’t quite contain how turned on I am and gasp as he pushes his torso against mine, kissing me so gently it pulls on my bottom lip, the change of tempo felt in every part of me. I bend a leg up to curl around his, feel his lips move down to the front of my neck and run my fingers down the valleys of his back.
‘LEO! How did…?’ The door suddenly flies open and I hear what sounds like a young woman screaming.
‘FRANK!’ Leo shouts, trying to reach over and shut the door on him but of course, that leaves me exposed, cupping my boobs with each hand, turning away. Leo’s attempts to do so mean the door hits Frank square in the face, knocking his glasses askew, and he reaches up to cradle his eye. I scramble around and find Leo’s jumper to protect my modesty, Leo stands there not really knowing who to attend to first. He opens the door to find Frank rubbing his temple; he sees me againand tries to avert his eyes. All I can think is I hope this doesn’t affect the healing of his eyebrows.
‘You…Two?’ Frank says, half dazed, half in pure shock. ‘Kissing and stuff?’ he says, a finger shifting between us.
‘Yeah,’ I say, going over to put a hand to Leo’s back. Not now he’s thrown an ice bucket over the situation but yeah, kissing and…stuff. Leo looks over to see me wearing his jumper, smiling.
Frank gazes at us like some sort of proud parent. ‘I’ll have to tell Jasper his plan worked. I’m sorry. You can carry on if you want? I can make us all some tea?’ he says.
‘You’re telling me you’re going to sort the refreshments while we…’ Leo tells Frank and I laugh. ‘Mate, it’s not happening now, chill.’ Leo gives me a side glance. The moment has well and truly been scuppered by our friend here, but there is still some residual emotion that makes us both blush and smile. ‘I thought you’d be gone by now anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be spending Christmas with your mum?’
‘I came back to get some things. Shit, have I really spoiled this?’ he asks us. ‘Jasper will kill me.’
‘Not really. We’re still spending Christmas together, there will be other…opportunities,’ Leo says and the thought makes me truly excited for what may lay ahead. A few days ago, I was merely headed up there for walks and turkey. Leo grabs his T-shirt from the floor and pulls it over his head. I sigh with disappointment to see him covered up.
Frank still hovers at the door, trying his best not to look at me. ‘I really am sorry. I always mess things up.’
I hate hearing him so down on himself as usual. ‘Frank. No harm done at all,’ I say, trying to persuade him otherwise.
‘So are you two…?’ he enquires.
‘We’re going to try it out and see what happens,’ I say. He genuinely looks quite happy, his feet moving from side to side. Ibeckon him to come in the room even though he still can’t seem to maintain eye contact with me.
‘As your boss, can I apologise for what you may have seen in the last few days,’ I say, trying to gloss over what will likely have been traumatic for him.
Frank blushes a deep berry red, his face scrunched in confusion. ‘Umm, I…Just…No more…I don’t want to see your…assets again…Your…It’s weird.’
‘Of course. In other news, I hear you had good conversations with Norah?’ I ask him, expertly changing the subject.
His expression lightens. ‘It’s why I came back. We were talking about maths and stuff at the wedding, and I told her about this really good book so I’m going to lend it to her. I’m seeing her today…’
I smile to see him so happy. ‘That’s awesome. Told you so…’
‘Told me what?’ he asks confused.
‘I thought there was something there,’ I tell him. ‘Have you got her a Christmas present?’
He suddenly looks a touch confused. ‘Should I? My mum gives her family biscuits.’
Leo smirks at me from his wardrobe where he’s started to pack his bag.
I perch on the edge of the desk in his room. ‘I wouldn’t go overboard but maybe get her something small, something meaningful that would make her laugh.’
‘You told Jasper to buy women cashmere…’ Frank reminds me.
‘I did but maybe something else?’ I tell him.
‘I have some emergency gifts in my room for aunties I forget. Do you think she’d like talc?’ Frank asks me.
‘How old is this Norah again? She someone’s nan?’ Leo jests and I shift him a look. This is Frank. We love Frank, but one year ago he bought us automatic pencil sharpeners. We need to give our boy a hand.
I look over at Leo, who’s sitting on the edge of his bed. Maybe this intervention was a good thing. Else we’d have spent the morning in bed and I’d have got nothing done, nothing packed, nothing wrapped. ‘What time are we leaving?’
‘Say midday at the latest?’ Leo tells me.
