THE HOUSEMATE | ✓

20

New's pov-

My plan to get Tay alone in either his bedroom or mine had been thwarted the second we’d walked in the door and Sing had accosted us and dragged us both into the lounge, announcing it was pizza and film night. Joss was there, seated next to Gawin, with a free space on his other side. Tay had immediately stiffened next to me when he’d seen him, and I knew he was still sensitive about the whole situation, even though I’d assured him that the only thing I felt for Joss was friendship. So I made sure to give Joss a polite smile before sitting on the other sofa, right in the middle, so Tay would either have to sit next to me or Joss.

Joss had given me a knowing look, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards, and I had to bite down on my lip to hide my own smile. I was fairly confident about which seating option Tay would pick, but when he immediately collapsed right next to me, I couldn’t hide my smile any longer. I needed to get a fucking grip before anyone noticed the weird way I was acting.

More and more people piled into the lounge, crowding around the TV, taking up seats on the arms of the chairs, and dragging in beanbags and cushions from other rooms. All our housemates, most of the guys from next door, and all the rest of the football team were here. We ended up with four people on a sofa that was really only designed for three, meaning I got to get up close and personal with Tay without anyone thinking anything of it. The line of his body pressed against me was warm, and all I wanted was to be alone with him.

Something in the back of my brain prodded at me—reminding me that I’d been down this road before—sneaking around in secret. But how could I explain how different this felt?

The way I reacted to Tay…the way he reacted to me…

I didn’t want to stop.

“You owe me a blunt,” I told him in a low voice, just so I had an excuse to lean closer. He grunted in reply, his gaze fixed on the TV screen, but his little finger stretched out to stroke across the side of my thigh, out of view of the others.

Butterflies. That was what he gave me.

On-screen, there was a series of explosions, almost deafening through the soundbar. Tay used the moment to turn his head the tiniest bit. His breath caressed my skin as his soft rasp sounded in my ear, too low for anyone else to hear.

“After this, you’re mine.”

Fuck.

The movie that was supposedly two hours and eleven minutes long lasted approximately seventeen hours. And as much as I appreciated that everyone was together, a group of friends hanging out, just the way I’d hoped for when I’d thought about what uni life might be like, I wanted to be alone with Tay.

When the credits finally rolled, I was up and out of my seat before I registered that everyone was staring at me. I didn’t dare to look down at Tay, whose shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. Bastard.

“In a hurry?” Sing raised a brow at me.

“Uh, I’m going to…phone my mum.”

“At midnight?”

“Look at his guilty face! Bet he’s going to watch porn—”

“—have a wank.”

There was way too much laughter going on at my expense, and I stuck my finger up at the room in general as I backed towards the door. “Just for the record, I hate you all.”

“For someone who hates football, your housemate’s alright,” I heard as I headed down the hallway. It made me smile.

My phone buzzed with a text when I reached the second-floor landing.