Decadent (6 page)

“So we're completely clear about this…you're not asking me to be your boyfriend? Just to see where this could go?” Cormag asked, with a cute but faint frown of confusion.

He was so adorable. Lachlan nodded.

“Yes. If you'
re certain that's what you want,” he answered, obviously giving him a chance to change his mind. But hadn't he been the one to suggest it in the first place? He was
not
changing his mind.

“Cormag, I really like you. You make the pain go away and I could use that right now, while I figure out w
hat I'm going to do with myself,” Lachlan confessed.

“That's good to know.” Cormag smiled in agreement. “And I would l
ove to help you work things out,” he agreed. Lachlan kissed him because he could and let out a sigh when Cormag glanced up at the clock. “And I guess that if you were hungry before, you're going to be starving now?”

“About time you noticed. A guy could s
tarve to skin and bones in here,” he joked lightly, rolling his eyes.

Cormag laughed at him, giving him a quick peck on the lips. He didn't even mind that he got up and left the room; he turned back to stare at the exquisite art work on the ceiling, stunned by the way he felt.

A titter of laughter escaped him as he lay there. He had no idea what he was doing, but for once he was being reckless and spontaneous. He was following his gut instincts and they said that he should grab the opportunity to be with Cormag while it was there. It may turn out to be the stupidest thing he'd ever done or it could turn out to be the smartest; he wouldn't know unless he tried.

It was coming out of the blue, complete out of nowhere, but he trusted himself and how he felt. He wasn't a reckless person by nature so he had to trust his instincts in this. If it went wrong that was his doing. If he turned out to not be attracted to guys then that was his mistake. He wouldn't let Cormag get hurt by it, but he couldn't run from something new just because it was new. This was his evolution; he was changing, growing and morphing into something completely different and he was okay with that.

Konnor was at a loss as to what to do as Lachlan left the bar with Cormag. He looked at Matteo for guidance, but he shrugged and offered a sympathetic smile.

“Cormag is crushing hard on him, kid. The pair of them have been flirting since they saw each other,” he explained, before moving off to serve another customer.

Konnor was confused. He seriously hoped that Lachlan wasn't latching on to the first person who showed him any attention in a need to feel wanted. Because if he was he was going to get his fingers burnt. He wished he'd kept his big mouth shut about alcohol fixing his problems. Right now all he could think was that alcohol had made an even bigger mess out of a stupendous problem.

He headed home, frustrated that nothing was going right. He had a beer of his own, to calm himself down and headed for bed in an agitated state. He didn't like seeing Lachlan like this; it was all Orion's fault, but unlike every other difficult moment in their lives he didn't know how to fix this. Alcohol hadn't solved this problem and Lachlan was a virgin so getting him laid wasn't the answer. In fact, the very idea of Lachlan getting laid was the problem. He had no idea what he was getting up to with Cormag.

Konnor was about spitting nails as he climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling. Not only had he lost Lachlan once that day, but he'd found him only to alienate him and lose him again. Whatever was going on with him was a mystery because he had barely recognised him at the bar where he worked. Drunk and even when he was sobering he'd been a completely different person. And he blamed it all on that Cormag fellow.

He didn't know or care who he was, only that he'd left the bar with Lachlan and no-one had seen him since. He'd only gone home and not bothered looking for him again because Lachlan was eighteen now; he was a legal grown up and the smartest, most careful guy he knew. He trusted him to take care of himself and do what was right.

Konnor cursed as he called Lachlan's mobile phone, in a last ditch attempt to talk some sense into him, only for the phone to ring out close by. He looked around, wondering why he could hear Lachlan's phone playing the Rocky theme tune. That was when it clicked.

He dragged himself out of bed and grabbed the school bag Lachlan had practically thrown at him before he left the bar; his mobile was tucked into the side front pocket. “The little bastard. He did it on purpose,” he realised. He'd only handed over his bag so that he could slip his phone into it and swan off to do whatever the fuck he wanted without there being any consequences to face. Now he was really steamed.

Lachlan had gone off with a stranger, to do God knew what, only God knew where and he'd deliberately left his phone behind so that no-one could find him. The guy was certifiable. Konnor was going to kill him.

Cormag woke up with a smile and a yawn. He'd had the most amazing dreams during the night, but now that daylight had come and his alarm clock was ringing he would have to force himself back into reality.

He gave his alarm clock a whack to shut it up and sighed as he ran his hands over his face, recalling the day before. He'd gone to the bar, had some lunch and then…well, he couldn't remember what came after that, so he guessed he'd got drunk. Which would explain why his body felt like it was made out of stone; he didn't want to have to get out of bed.

A buzzing started somewhere in the room. He looked around to the bedside table only to see that his phone wasn't where he usually left it. Then again, he must have been steaming drunk when he got home, so it could be anywhere.

Cormag gave his eyes a rub to wake himself up and reluctantly climbed out of bed, rolling his eyes at the clothes that were strewn across the floor. He was a messy sod when he was drunk. He began picking them up, looking in pockets for his mobile, which continued to buzz. But he didn't find it. He was confused to find that there were two of everything on the floor. Two pairs of jeans, two t-shirts, a pair of boxers that most definitely weren't his and when he peeked out the open bedroom door to the hallway, there were trainers there that he didn't recognise.

He straightened up, standing in the doorway of his bedroom, thinking back to the night before. He never brought anyone back to his house. Heck, he hadn't been in a relationship for the last year and he hadn't picked anyone up either. He didn't do casual flings; they tended to be more complicated than they were worth.

“
Will you come back to bed?” a sleepy voice asked quietly.

He almost jumped at the break in the silence of the room. But when he looked back at the bed he was beyond stunned to find that his dream was in fact reality. Lachlan was lying in his bed, under the duvet with his tired, expressive hazel eyes watching him.

“I can't find my phone,” he explained, since he didn't know what else to say.

“Is that what's buzzing?” Lachlan complained before pulling the duvet up over his head. “I think it fell out your pocket somewhe
re between here and the library,” he said, before yawning and going quiet.

Cormag was remembering bits and pieces now; he figured that he was so used to being alone that he'd convinced himself it was all a dream for a while. He was relieved to know he'd been lying to himself.

He could remember his afternoon with Lachlan, now that he thought about it. He remembered sitting in the library, trying to eat his take out and having Lachlan's lips driving him to distraction. He recalled convincing himself that he should walk the kid home and how they'd even managed to make it to the front door. That was when they saw how hard it was raining and Lachlan had asked to stay the night.

Cormag could almost feel the sensual kiss he had graced his lips with, as he closed the front door. He hadn't even had the chance to admit that he wanted him to stay. Lachlan had taken complete control. It had only taken seconds for them to head for his bedroom. He even remembered spending half the night in bed, talking and kissing one another heatedly.

He snapped himself out of his recollections and left the room to find his phone, which he found halfway down the hall as Lachlan said. He vaguely remembered hearing something thump against the wall when he was juggling the take out boxes in one hand and trying to open the library door with the other. He hadn't much cared at the time what it was; now he knew.

The phone stopped ringing after he picked it up. He went back into the bedroom and sat back against the headboard on his side of the bed to find out who wanted to talk to him so badly. It wasn't a number he recognised, but it had called fifteen times since seven o'clock that morning.

“Do you know this number?” he asked as he gave the duvet covering Lachlan a gentle nudge. He was now firmly wrapped in the whole thing; another thing Cormag found adorable. “It's called me fifteen times this morning,” he explained, as the corner of the duvet was pushed aside and Lachlan's head came into view. A hand snaked out and turned the phone, only for him to pull the cover over his head again.

“It's Konnor's number,” he complained.

“Are you ever going to come out of hiding?” Cormag chuckled to himself as he watched Lachlan appear again. He was frowning and his eyes were squinting shut with the light coming in the thin curtains. “Oh…welcome to your first hangover. Be grateful I went easy on you.” He tormented Lachlan for his first experience of the evils of alcohol.

“Easy,” he reiterated calmly.

Before Cormag could react Lachlan exploded out of the duvet and hands pulled him forward until he was sprawled across him. He was pleasantly surprised that he got a hard, lingering kiss in response to his teasing rather than a slap.

“You did not go easy
on me at all. You got me wasted,” he countered his claim with one of his own. Cormag couldn't help but smile and get comfortable. He let one arm lie over the bare chest he now knew well, gently brushing his fingertips over the exposed skin while he leant his free elbow on the bed to prop his head on his hand.

“Actually, I was extremely nice to you. It's cheap vodka. I've used that order to get myself drunk before and Matteo knew what I meant.” He promised that he hadn't let him get in over his head. “The only reason he gave you it was because it gets you drunk very quickly, but with some fresh air and lots of coffee you also recover quicker. What you're feeling right now is nothing compared to a real hangover, trust me.” He smiled with his words and forgot all about the phone he'd dropped when Lachlan grabbed him. He loved looking at those big brown eyes. He was certainly proving to be entertaining in the morning.

“That's what you said yesterday. You said '
I think you're steaming hot Lachlan, but I'm not looking for complicated right now. I'm not looking for
any
relationship right now. You're safe with me, trust me on that.'
Now look at us,” Lachlan grumbled.

“Hmm, all right, I'll give you that one.” Cormag couldn't believe that he'd memorised that word for word. He'd been at his most drunk when he said it, trying to convince himself to keep his hands off the gorgeous boy who was flirting so openly with him. Now he wondered why he'd bothered. “But you're the st
raight arrow who started it all,” he agreed. But that couldn't be helped; he was far too irresistible.

“True.” Lachlan smiled back at him cheekily.

“Now are you going to call Konnor back?” he asked, unsurprised that he shook his head and closed his eyes again. The poor kid was tired and hungover for the first time in his life; on any other day he'd let him sleep. “Won't everyone be wondering where you are?” Cormag tried another tactic, but he shook his head.

He did look reluctant to move and he had to admit that he understood that. He didn't want Lachlan to leave and realise that he wasn't gay and therefore didn't want to see him again or be talked into never seeing him again by his friends and family.

“No. My parents will assume I'm staying with Konnor and he won't want them to know that he found me and lost me again, so he'll tell them I'm with him. I'm covered until at least four,” Lachlan confessed, only to catch a yawn with the back of his hand. He finally opened his eyes again and gave them a rub with the heel of his hand.

“And what happens at four?”

“I'm supposed to go to work.” He smiled absently to himself.

Cormag moved back over to his own side of the bed, thinking about that. “The scene of the
crime,” he teased as he held his hands behind his head and listened to the incessant buzzing of his phone vibrating its way across the bedside table. “Should I call Konnor for you?” he wondered.

“No. You should be keeping me warm. You let a draft in when
you got out of bed,” Lachlan complained as he draped himself over his body. He wasn't the kind of person who usually wanted to snuggle, but he did enjoy having Lachlan close.

“Oh did I? I'm so sorry.” He laughed in amusement, letting one arm move down to hold him close.

When his mobile buzzed right off the bedside table and onto the floor he wanted to grab the stupid thing and switch it off. But he couldn't do that; he had to keep it on in case his work called. “I better answer it or he's going to find out where I live and come round here,” he decided.

“
Oh God,” Lachlan groaned in complaint. A second later a loud ringing began to shrill through the house. “Make it stop!” he begged with a whine.

Cormag almost found it funny, except that he knew he was cursing alcohol, hangovers and Konnor for the choir of screeching that was going on inside his head.

“I guess he found the house number then.” He was giving Lachlan a gentle shove back onto his side of the bed when another noise permeated the room, making him groan in frustration. “And that would be the doorbell.” He wondered if Konnor had a few different phones, because his mobile was still buzzing on the floor and the house phone was shrieking while someone held a finger on the doorbell. There was no way to stop it except to get up.

“Go away!” Lachlan shouted from beneath the covers.

Cormag found himself smiling. “Why don't you grab a shower and get dressed?” he suggested as he grabbed a t-shirt from the chair in the corner of the room and pulled it on. He cursed Konnor with all the names under the sun for the pounding that was now going on at his front door. He was going to wake the neighbours if he wasn't careful.

“No
. I'm not moving until it stops,” he protested.

He figured that was probably for the best. Lachlan's head was in a delicate state right now and the last thing he needed was to remove his hands and come out from the protection of the duvet. Cormag left him in bed, trying to escape the noise and headed to the door, ready to throttle Konnor.