In My Life

Rock and roll music

It was a dreary December night and Paul was sat on his bed at Forthlin Road, his guitar on his lap and a cup of tea on the windowsill. The tea had been hot when he put it there but had long since grown stone cold, because Paul had lost himself in thought and was staring out of his bedroom window into the rapidly darkening evening sky.

Over two weeks had passed since he and Pete got kicked out of Germany, just days after the bizzies had deported George for being underage. He hadn't heard from anyone since, so he assumed the band was history. Part of him was sad about that, but it also made things a lot easier at home. Paul winced at the memory of his return, and the look of disappointment on his dad's face when he heard his son had been arrested. Getting an earful was something he could handle; feeling like he let his father down was a lot harder to digest. And so he had heeded the warning to 'get a job or don't come back', started working at a factory, and stayed out of the way as much as he could in hopes of getting back on his dad's good side.

A familiar voice tore Paul right out of his daydream, and back into his bedroom. "So what are you thinking about then, anything good?"

Paul jumped at the sound. He turned his head so quickly, he nearly pulled a muscle in his neck. His face lit up at the sight of John sauntering into the room. "John! How are you? When did you get back?" He gestured for John to come and sit next to him on the bed, "Who let you in?"

John grinned at the questions fired at him. He took his time getting comfortable, before he answered, counting the questions on his fingers as he did so. "Fine, five days ago, and Mike, but I don't see the relevance in that last one."

"Yeah well, I doubt da' would be happy to see you right now. He didn't take me getting arrested very well," Paul shrugged. "So if you've been back nearly a week, why haven't you contacted me before? I missed you..." A slight blush crept upon his face at his last words.

"So, the arl fella's takin' it hard, eh? I can't imagine why. Who wouldn't want a felon for a son?" John nudged his knee against Paul's. "I missed you too, Macca. Hamburg as a drag after you left."

Paul nodded. "Yeah, home's been on top te fuck too. I'm glad you're back." He shuffled around a bit, unsure how to proceed. Eventually, he managed, "John, maybe we should talk about everything that's happened..." His voice trailed off and he looked at John, unsure what his response would be.

To his relief, John's lips curled up in a mischievous smile instead. "You mean, things like this?" He reached out and casually moved the guitar out of the way. Then he pulled Paul in to close the gap between their bodies. His lips grazed Paul's for a moment, very softly, as if he was asking for permission. Paul leaned in a bit closer, answering the question that was present in John's touch. He steadied himself by placing one hand on John's hip, lacing the other in the auburn tresses. John let out a soft groan and smiled against Paul's lips, to which Paul replied by nipping gently at John's bottom lip. John now had his arms wrapped firmly around Paul's torso, pressing their bodies closely together. The kiss deepened as they explored each other's mouths with a passion that made their hearts beat in a hypnotising rhythm. When they broke away from the kiss, their cheeks were flushed. Paul was slightly out of breath when he answered, "Yeah, things like that."

They sat there for a moment, arms wrapped around each other, each immersed in their own train of thought. Then, Paul gently untangled himself from their embrace when he heard his brother pottering about across the landing. He placed a finger against his lips in response to John's questioning look, and mouthed 'Mike' as he made to close the bedroom door to hide them from prying eyes and ears before quickly returning to sit next to John once more. Eventually, he willed himself to put his thoughts into words.

"John, I need to talk to you about what happened... in Hamburg, y'know."

John sighed a little. "Please stop apologising for that, Paul. I meant it when I said it the first time. It happened, there's nothing we can change about that now. Can't we just forget about it and move on?"