Magic & Mistletoe (5 page)

That was probably an exaggeration, but Harry sat there with his mouth hanging open in shock, thinking of all the ways he could kill Jason and dispose of his body.

CHAPTER FOUR

Andrew watched Jason’s back, as he weaved his way between the tables towards the door, and marvelled at the way he casually fired that parting shot and then strolled away as if he hadn’t left behind a horribly awkward atmosphere. Harry looked as though he was about to crawl under the table, so Andrew nudged his thigh with his knee and gestured to Jason’s empty chair. “He’s not subtle, is he?”

He smiled to let Harry know he wasn’t pissed off about it. If anything, Jason had done them a favour. At least now they wouldn’t have to dance around the topic.

“To be fair, he’s not normally that blunt either.” Harry sat forward and rested his elbows on the table, cringing when it wobbled again and Andrew snatched his drink before it had chance to spill. “Sorry.”

Even the tips of Harry’s ears were pink. Andrew didn’t think he’d ever seen someone blush so much. It all made sense now, and he felt like an idiot for not noticing sooner. He had jumped to totally the wrong conclusion about Harry.

“I probably owe you an apology,” he said, swiping a dollop of cream off the top of his drink. There was no need for him to suck the cream off his finger
quite
so slowly, but the way Harry watched him do it with such a hungry look was worth it.

“Um—” Harry’s gaze flicked up to meet Andrew’s, then dropped to his mouth again. “—an apology? For what?”

It was painfully obvious after today and their last two interactions that Harry was shy. He said stupid, inane things because he got flustered, not because he was a dick as Andrew had first thought. “I misjudged you when we first met, and I’ve been a bit of an arse to you since then.”

Harry looked down at his empty mug for a second, and when he looked back up, he was smiling. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.”

Andrew huffed. “Yeah, I have. I just didn’t expect someone as hot as you to be shy.”

“I’m not sh—oh! You think I’m hot?” The colour was back in his cheeks again, but nowhere near as bad as before. Harry cocked his head to one side. “Seriously? You’re not messing with me, are you?”

“No. Why would I?”

Harry shrugged. “You seemed to pretty much hate me before.”

When Andrew first saw Harry, he’d expected him to be arrogant and a bit of a dick. Anyone who looked like he did had to have confidence in spades. What he hadn’t expected was for Harry to be shy and unassuming. There was no bravado, no ego, and the more Andrew sat there looking at him, the more he wanted to lean forward and get in his space.

He shook his head to clear it and took a drink of his coffee, licking his lips as he finished it. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I had you figured out all wrong, didn’t I?”

“Maybe.” Harry’s smile started out small but grew bigger as Andrew reached out and loosely grabbed his fingers.

“Can we start again? Get to know each other properly this time?”

“Um, yeah. Okay.” Harry paused for a second, and Andrew got the feeling he was choosing his words carefully before he spoke. He’d been doing that a lot. “Just so you know, I don’t normally say such stupid shit. It only happens around guys I like.” He didn’t look away this time but met Andrew’s gaze like a challenge.

“Good to know.” Andrew let go of Harry’s fingers and held out his hand for him to shake. “Andrew Smith. I’m twenty-six, and I work in Waterstones at The Mall. Nice to meet you.”

Harry was full-on grinning at him now, his blue eyes fixed on Andrew. He was lovely to look at.

“Harry Thornton, I’m twenty-three, and I work up at Aztec West. Pleased to meet you.”

“You too.”

They spent the next twenty minutes or so asking each other questions, only stopping when Harry knocked his mug off the table, splashing the dregs over the bottom of Andrew’s jeans.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry.” Harry bent down to pick up the mug, which surprisingly hadn’t broken, giving Andrew a great view of the flush spreading up the back of his neck. “I’m just really fucking clumsy lately.”

He muttered something else under his breath, but Andrew didn’t catch all of it. It had sounded a little like “crazy witch-girl magic,” but he doubted that was right. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

They’d been chatting about past relationships. Andrew mentioned he was bi and his last partner had been a girl called Sarah. They’d gone out for a couple of months before deciding they were better off as friends. When he asked Harry about his last relationship, Harry had opened his mouth and then somehow managed to knock his mug off the table.

“I haven’t really had a relationship as such,” Harry answered eventually. “Nothing that lasted longer than a couple of dates, so….”

When Harry fiddled with his empty mug, looking embarrassed, Andrew wished he hadn’t asked.

Harry nodded over to the counter, where Kyle was wiping down the surfaces and putting everything away. “I think they’re shutting in a few minutes. We should probably go.”

Andrew glanced at his watch, cursing when he saw what time it was.

Harry looked up as Andrew pushed his chair back and stood. “Something wrong?”

“I’m supposed to pick a friend up from work at six thirty. Her car’s in the garage—it failed its MOT test. I’m gonna be late if I don’t hurry.”

“Where does she work? Traffic’s a nightmare at this time.” Harry stood too and pulled on his coat. Andrew saw it had a thick fleece inner, and when Harry had it zipped up, it made him look a lot bigger than he was. When Harry pulled on a hat and ski gloves, Andrew couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“We’re in Bristol, not the Arctic.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know, but it’s bloody cold out there.” He glanced down at Andrew’s black wool gloves. “You’re gonna feel it.”

“It’ll take us all of ten minutes to walk back. Maybe I should tell someone our route, just in case.” Andrew laughed again as Harry glared at him.

“Funny.”

When they left the warmth of the cafe, Andrew immediately tugged up the collar of his coat. The wind had picked up, and it was a lot chillier than before. He wished he’d brought a scarf.

“Cold?”

Harry had a ridiculously smug smile, but Andrew couldn’t even get mad at his blatant I-told-you-so expression. Every time Andrew glanced Harry’s way, it just made him smile. He looked like someone preparing to climb Everest, not walk the half mile back to their flats. “Come on,” he said instead. “I need to hurry.”

Neon Christmas decorations in the shapes of bells, stars, and holly lined either side of the street. Some of the shops had fairy lights strung up in their windows. They passed a hairdresser’s with what looked to be at least five sets of lights twinkling merrily away in the night.

Andrew pointed at it. “Reminds me of your flat.”

Harry scoffed. “We haven’t got anywhere near that many lights in our window. Ours is tastefully done, thank you very much.”

“If you say so.” He saw Harry’s slight frown out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself. “They can still probably see it from space.”

This time Harry elbowed him in the side. “Get lost. How do you know which window’s mine anyway?”

“You, um, you don’t always shut your curtains.”

Andrew’s face warmed at the accidental confession. He could have just said he’d seen them at the window putting the lights up, which was also true. But Harry had a tendency to walk around his living room half-naked, and those big picture windows displayed everything down to midthigh. It was that memory that immediately popped into Andrew’s head.

Harry stopped and turned to face him. Andrew groaned. “What do you mean I don’t sh—
oh
. Have you seen me naked?”

Harry bit his lip, and Andrew couldn’t decide whether he looked curious or mortified.

“You had boxer briefs on.” He nudged Harry to start him walking again, shivering slightly as an extra-cold gust of wind whipped at his coat. “Rainbow-coloured ones, I believe.”

“Ahh.” Harry’s smile was both dirty and knowing as he glanced over at Andrew. “Those are my favourites. They’re really comfy, but snug.”

“Yeah.” Andrew swallowed.

They were
very
snug. He’d been walking back from the shops when he’d looked up and seen Harry at the window. Then he’d stumbled and almost tripped over the kerb. “I liked them.”

The silence that followed was decidedly awkward. Perhaps admitting to perving on Harry from the street wasn’t the best idea. Their building was up ahead. Andrew should apologise before they parted ways. This last hour or so had been the most fun he’d had in a while, and he wanted to do it again. Harry wasn’t at all how Andrew had imagined him to be, and he liked what he’d seen so far.

“Sorry for—”

“Do you want to—?”

They stopped outside the entrance to the building and grinned at one another.

“You go first,” Harry said, gesturing to Andrew with his padded ski gloves.

Andrew shook his head. “No, you first.” He had liked the start of Harry’s question and wanted to hear the rest of it.

Harry nodded. “Okay.” He paused for a second, then said, “I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a drink tomorrow night?”

Andrew was about to say yes, when he remembered. “I can’t.” Harry’s face fell, and Andrew grabbed his hand. “No, I’d really like to, but I already have plans. What about Saturday?”

“I’m going out with Jason, Alex, and Lewis. You could come if you wanted?”

Andrew thought about it for a minute. He liked Harry’s friends well enough. Up until this week, he’d talked to them more than to Harry. But he wanted to get to know Harry better, and he couldn’t do that if they went out drinking with Harry’s mates. “How about Sunday? I’d like to cook something for you, if you fancy it?”

Andrew waited, feeling nervous all of a sudden. He didn’t normally invite people back to his flat so soon, but it was Christmas and he liked being home with all the decorations up. He wanted to show it off and relax with Harry in the comfort of his own place. God, he sounded like an old man already, even though he was only three years older than Harry. Harry probably hated the idea of staying in.

Harry glanced down at his feet, and when he looked back up with a shy smile, Andrew’s chest fluttered and he knew he’d made the right choice.

“I’d like that.”

“It’s a date, then.” The words slipped out without Andrew giving them much thought. It was what he always said when arranging stuff.

Harry’s smile got wider, more confident. “Yeah. It’s a date.”

They stood looking at each other and smiling, and Andrew would have been embarrassed for the pair of them if he didn’t feel so happy. The wind picked up again then, reminding him that they were outside in the middle of December and it was cold.

“So,” he said, stamping his feet to get some feeling back into his toes. “I need to get going, or I really will be late.” He fished his keys out of his pocket and jangled them.

“You never did say where you were picking your friend up from.”

“Oh, Marks and Spencer’s at Longwell Green. I’m hoping the traffic won’t be that bad over there.” If it was, Abi would kill him. He’d promised to be there on time tonight.

Harry glanced over in the direction of the ring road, not that you could even hear it from where they were. “You’d better get going, then.”

“Yeah.”

Neither of them moved, until Andrew couldn’t take the awkward anymore. “See you on Sunday.” He reached out and squeezed Harry’s shoulder, then stepped back.

“Looking forward to it.” Harry turned to head inside, when Andrew suddenly thought of something.

“Wait.” He pulled off his glove, hissing as the cold air hit his fingers, and quickly dug his phone out of his pocket. “Give me your number so I can ask you about what food you like.”

He handed his phone to Harry and waited while Harry took his gloves off and typed in his number.

“I like pretty much everything,” Harry said as he passed Andrew’s phone back to him.

There were so many responses to that remark, and Andrew had to bite his tongue to stop some smutty reply coming out. They’d had enough awkward for one day. “Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

Andrew smiled and waved before jogging around the side of the building to the car park. Abi was gonna kill him.

“Oh my God, I thought my feet were going to freeze.” Abi kicked her shoes off as soon as she shut the car door, and she started massaging them. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Sorry I was a bit late.” Andrew messed with the controls until the fans blew warm air down into the footwells. Abi shot him a grateful look and settled back into her seat with a sigh.

“It’s fine. Traffic’s always shit at this time of year.” She unzipped her coat a little, then turned to look at him. “Anything to report on the Harry front?”

He smiled, and she sat up and grabbed his arm. “Ooh, there is. Tell me, tell me!”

“Calm down, or you’ll make me crash. It’s not that exciting.”

“I’ve had the worst day. Anything will seem interesting in comparison. So spill.”

Andrew had already filled her in on their earlier encounters this week, so she was well aware of his changing views on Harry. “I met him for coffee. Well, he was already in there with Jason when I arrived, but I joined them.”

“The three of you? How cosy.” She laughed when he raised an eyebrow at her. “Sorry. Carry on.”

“Jason left pretty much straightaway, and then me and Harry talked.”

“Talked?”

“Yes. What else would we do in a busy coffee shop?”

“Oh.” Abi shifted in her seat until she faced him. “The one where Kyle works?”

Andrew didn’t get what the big fascination was with Kyle. Yes, he was good-looking, but he knew it and flirted with anything that moved—so not Andrew’s type. Abi, on the other hand, thought Kyle was sex on a stick. “Yes, that one.”

“How did Harry measure up in the presence of all that hotness, then?”

Andrew sighed as he crawled to a stop at the traffic lights and glanced over at her. “Just fine, thanks. Turns out that as well as being hot, he’s also funny, a little shy, really fucking adorable sometimes, and—
what
?”