Crying in the Rain (Hiding Behind The Couch Character and Festive Episodes)

12 Dessert

Kris

“N ext time , I’ m having one of these all to myself,” Ade grumbled playfully, withdrawing his spoon from the sundae glass.

Laughing, Kris scooped up the last of the chocolate sauce marbled with melted vanilla ice cream, of which Ade had eaten almost all, but Kris didn’t mind in the slightest. “You’re really not a fan of sharing dessert, are you?”

“I shared!” Ade protested. In a flash, he grabbed Kris’s wrist and, locking eyes with him, closed his mouth around the spoon and slowly pulled back, sucking it fully clean. It had exactly the intended effect, sending a rush of heat to Kris’s cheeks and other places.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were seducing me,” he said.

Ade smiled coyly. “It’s just flirting. There’s plenty of time for seduction on our next date. I hope that’s not assuming too much?”

“Definitely not. I’ve had a wonderful evening.” He didn’t want it to be over, but it was getting late, so reluctantly, the next time the waiter came their way, he asked for the bill. “How are you getting home? Or have you booked into a bed-and-breakfast?”

“No. I was going to call a taxi.”

“Won’t that be expensive?”

“No more so than a hotel room. Is there a local firm you’d recommend?”

“Kind of. There’s only one in town. They have an office around the corner. ”

“That will do nicely,” Ade said, smiling up at the waiter, who left the bill on the table and retreated while they figured out who was paying what. Or, rather, Ade figured it out, and Kris handed over his card and absently keyed in his PIN when prompted. He was torn between offering Ade a place to stay and worrying that doing so was too forward. Shaunna would be fine with it, he was sure, but he’d hate Ade to feel he had to accept if he didn’t want to.

There were no free cars when they arrived at the taxi office, so they had to wait. Kris watched Ade out of the corner of his eye. He seemed agitated.

“Are you OK?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes. I’m fine. I just…I was figuring out my plans for tomorrow, so I could come and collect my car.” It was a subtle hint that Kris might have missed were they not already on the same wavelength.

“I was thinking about that. You’re at work in the morning, I’m guessing?”

“I am.”

“And we haven’t drunk so much that you’d be incapable of driving back first thing, so…what about staying at my place?”

“Won’t Shaunna mind?”

“Not at all. Like I said, we’re best friends, and she’ll know…” Kris paused, but then decided to go for it. “Tonight has been amazing, Ade, and if you didn’t come home with me, I’d only spend half the night jabbering to her about you and then no doubt lie awake for the rest of it, concocting reasons to call you tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Ade said quietly. “Heavy.”

Kris grimaced. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t planning on telling you that.”

“I’m glad you did.” Ade pondered for a moment. “OK. I’ll come back with you, but I haven’t done this in a long time.”

“This as in…? ”

“Dating. I tried once, and it didn’t end well. So if I act like a na?ve teenager, that’s why.”

Kris nodded and smiled. “OK. I’ll bear that in mind, but I’m no gigolo either.” A taxi drew up in front of them, and he moved towards it, opening the door and gesturing for Ade to get in. “I should also warn you…I hate people sleeping on the couch, so you can have my bed, and I’ll go in with Shaunna.”

“Or we can share?” Ade suggested.

Kris’s heart leapt, and off it went again, bounce, bounce, bounce. “It’s a possibility,” he said, shakily pulling the door shut behind them.

They didn’t talk on the way back. Ade spent most of the ten-minute journey watching out of the window, and if Kris had had his wits about him, he’d have been a better tour guide, not that there were many features of interest in their hometown. He was in a quandary over whether he should send Shaunna advance notice, and by the time he reached a decision, they were pulling up outside the house. The living room lights were on, confirming she was still up.

“I hope she likes me,” Ade said so quietly Kris suspected he wasn’t supposed to hear it, but he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t. Shaunna’s approval was important to him too.

“She’ll love you, I promise.” He didn’t know where it came from, but all of a sudden he was confident everything would be OK. Surely, something that felt this right had to work out.

They had no chance of making a stealth entry; Casper’s little woofs heralded their approach up the path. Kris paused outside the front door.

“Ready?”

Ade nodded.

Kris pushed down on the handle and opened the door a few inches, until the Labrador’s muzzle, tea towel in mouth, poked out. “Hey, Caspy.” Kris pushed the door fully open, shaking his head at the loony dog’s jiggling, his tail a waggy blur. Ade gasped .

“Oh gosh! He’s so lovely!” He crouched down to Casper’s level. “Hello, handsome.” Casper shoved his nose into Ade’s hand and released the tea towel. “Is this for me? Thank you very much!” He let the dog have a good sniff of him—a dog person, without a doubt—and straightened up, grinning. “I’m officially smitten.”

Grinning back, Kris stepped past, patting the dog on the flank to get him to move. “You can have him,” he said, beckoning Ade inside. At the same time, the living room door opened, and Shaunna stepped into the hall. Both she and Ade stopped dead and stared at each other. After a beat, as if mirroring each other’s actions, they tilted their heads, taking in each other’s hair—Shaunna’s fiery curls cascading messily from a sprung comb clip, Ade’s gelled copper spikes—leaned left, leaned right, nodded approval and, finally, smiled broadly.

“You must be Ade,” Shaunna said, stepping forward.

“And you must be Shaunna,” Ade said, moving in for a hug.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” they both said at the same time and giggled.

Shaunna hooked Ade’s arm and led him through to the kitchen. Kris followed in their wake. “It’s lovely to meet you. Here, let me take that…” Casper’s tea towel gift. She handed it off to Kris. “Sorry about the dog hair. If I’d known you were coming, I’d have thrown the hoover around.”

“Who cares about a bit of dog hair?” Ade said, picking a clump from his jeans. Shaunna took it from him and handed that to Kris too.

“Do you have a dog?” she asked.

“No, but we had them when I was young. My mum used to take in all the old stinky mutts no-one else wanted.”

Discarding the tea towel and dog fluff, Kris edged past to reach the kettle. He was feeling a little surplus to requirements, for which he had only himself to blame. Listening to them chattering away like they’d known each other for years, he was overwhelmed with affection for them both. This could’ve been an absolute disaster, and his relief was immense, but everything was racing ahead of him, and his stomach was churning with nerves, with excitement, with possibilities for the future.

It was madness. He and Ade hadn’t even kissed yet. True, the attraction was undeniable and, from what Ade had said, mutual, but who was to say it wasn’t a short-lived infatuation? What if they kissed and discovered it did nothing for them? And if that happened, would Shaunna and Ade stay friends? In the few minutes they’d been acquainted, they’d bonded over the trials of being a ginger and losing a parent—Kris now knew Ade’s dad had died the same week his ex had moved in with him—and already that bond seemed so much stronger and more permanent than the connection Kris and Ade had spent two days nurturing.

The trouble was, after Jack, Kris was wary of jumping without looking. Shaunna was right about him going ‘all in’, but in his previous relationships, it had taken him a long time to reach the point where he let go and allowed it to happen. He still had no idea how Jack had sneaked past his defences, and while intrinsically he knew Ade was a totally different and altogether better person, Kris felt the same loss of control now as he had two years ago. It was, honestly, terrifying.

“Kris?”

Shaunna was suddenly next to him, her voice hooking him out of his thoughts.

“Are you all right, hun?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Are you making tea?” She looked pointedly at the kettle, still in his hands and empty.

“I am!” He took it to the sink and filled it. “Tea or coffee, Ade?”

“Tea, please. Too late for coffee. So, Shaunna, do you work?” Ade was still looking at Kris as he asked and gave him a wink that said I’ve got this.

“I do,” Shaunna answered. “I’m a hair stylist.”

“Oh, how glam! ”

“Ha! Hardly.” She paused to drop teabags into the mugs Kris had set out, smirking at him because that was as far as he’d got. He made a quick getaway to the fridge for the milk.

“Well, it sounds glam to me,” Ade said.

“Standing on your feet all day, wearing latex gloves and inhaling chemicals and other people’s hair?”

“Ew!”

Shaunna snorted a laugh—not at Ade, who kept catching Kris unawares. The way he’d wrinkled his nose…it was cute and sexy and pressed all Kris’s buttons. He cleared his throat self-consciously and gave his full effort to finishing making the tea.

“And you’re a radio producer?” Shaunna said, still laughing.

“Yes, and it involves no chemicals or latex gloves, although if you saw the state of some of the engineers—honey!” He laid his hand dramatically on Shaunna’s arm.

“Some of the actors are a bit suspect too,” Shaunna said. The dog gave a woof as if joining in with the tormenting.

Red-faced but no longer caring that they were ganging up on him, Kris took over their tea but didn’t join them. He didn’t want to get in the way of them getting to know each other.

“May I use your loo?” Ade asked. “I’ve been bursting since dessert.”

“Of course. Top of the stairs, first door on the left.”

“Thanks.” Ade dashed off.

Shaunna tilted her head, listening. As soon as the bathroom door closed, she whispered, “I love him. He’s perfect for you.”

“What does that mean?”

She shrugged. “He’s sweet and intelligent and fun. And he adores you. And he adores Casper.”

“And you.”

“We do seem to have hit it off, don’t we? We’re going to have so much fun together if you can make this work.”

“Hey!” Kris nudged her, feeling the weight of the judgement, which had been given in jest, but there was a truth to what she’d said. His insecurities had been a big part of why their marriage failed. Even now, after a successful date and Ade sticking around, he was still thinking I hope I can be good enough , not I am good enough . If he could find a way past that, then maybe he could make it work. He definitely wanted it to, a fact confirmed when Ade reappeared and floored him with a single, dazzling smile.

“I’m just going to pop upstairs myself,” Shaunna said casually, as if Kris wouldn’t know it was a ploy to give him and Ade a moment alone and an opportunity to figure out their sleeping arrangements. As she passed Ade in the doorway, she kissed his cheek and murmured, “Welcome aboard.”

He watched her leave and then turned back to Kris. “Hello, you.”

“Hey.”

Ade held out his hands, and Kris took them.

“This is so…” Ade trailed off and shook his head. “I confess, I was a tiny bit worried it would be awkward, but it’s not at all. Shaunna is amazing. Casper is an absolute sweetie. And this house…it’s everything I thought it would be. I see now why you both stayed. Who’d willingly give up all this?” Ade looked around him in wonder as if he were in the ballroom of a grand country mansion rather than an ordinary kitchen in an ordinary semi-detached house.

Kris tugged gently on Ade’s hands to bring him closer. “I know it’s weird—”

“Not weird. Different. In a good way.”

“OK,” Kris conceded. “I just wanted to say thank you for being so accepting of our different living arrangements. It means a lot.”

Ade moved closer still, their faces only inches apart. “Thank you for being so open with me. I’d tell you it doesn’t matter what I think…”

“It does,” Kris whispered, closing his eyes as Ade moved their hands out to the sides and reduced the space between them to zero. Ade’s scent filled Kris’s senses, already so familiar, their chests meeting as they breathed together, in and out, falling into a synchronised rhythm. Kris hardly dared move, afraid of ending what was surely a prelude to their first kiss, but if Ade was holding back because of where they were, then Kris needed to take the lead.

Eyes still closed, he swayed forward, his lips brushing against Ade’s, feather-light but electric. Ade gave a tiny gasp, which Kris hoped was because he’d felt it too. Before Kris ruined the moment by asking, Ade freed his hands and slid them around the back of Kris’s neck, drawing him into another kiss, firmer than the last. It zinged through every muscle, sparking myriad sensations and making his breath catch in his throat. Ade laughed against his lips.

“What you said in the taxi about giving me your bed for the night…”

“Hmm?”

“Would you consider sharing it with me?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“I only said I’d consider it—”

Ade cut off Kris’s tormenting with another kiss, this time with lips parted, breath mingling. Their tongues touched and darted away, then touched again, no longer an intrusion but an invitation. Ade’s hands slid down to rest in the small of Kris’s back, and Kris mirrored Ade’s pose, keeping the kiss going, slowly, lazily, no pressure to do anything more, although it was as arousing as it was comforting.

They could probably have kept going for hours, but the sound of footsteps on the stairs reminded them they were not alone, and they eased apart as the door opened. Shaunna didn’t even look at them—Kris envisaged he was as flushed and plump-lipped as Ade. She scooted past, picked up her tea and scooted back again, calling, “Going to bed. Good night!”

“Oops,” Ade mumbled and tried to move away, but Kris kept hold of him, watching over his shoulder. Shaunna peered over the banister on her way up the stairs and grinned at him. “Have fun.”

A moment later, her bedroom door closed .

“Is she OK?” Ade asked.

Kris smiled. “She’s fine. She’s giving us some privacy.”

“Probably for the best,” Ade said, his words merging into a yawn. “Oh God. Sorry.”

“Tired?”

“Shattered. It’s been a long day.”

“Tough one too,” Kris reminded him.

“Yeah. Nice end to it, though.” Ade smiled sleepily.

“Come on,” Kris said, releasing him and taking his hand. “Let’s get some sleep.”