Page 12 of A is for Aftercare

“That’s what I thought.” He clasps his hands. “What are we watching tonight?”

“You’re going to put that thought in my head and then talk about TV?”

“Yup.”

“You’re evil.”

Blake shrugs. “I know.”

I turn the TV on and channel hop for a few minutes until we find a programme we both agree on. It's a police procedural show with a quirky main character. As I watch, I can't get the thought of Hamish ordering me to my knees out of my head. WhatwouldI do if he did that? Not that he would, obviously. I was sure he was professional, even if my current thoughts were anything but.

"You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" Blake asks once we're on to the second episode.

“No.”

“Liar. Why don’t you go upstairs and have a wank over one of his books?”

“And get the pages all sticky? No thanks.”

Blake laughs. “I’m sure you’ve got better aim than that.”

“We should not be talking about my aim during a hand job.”

“You know me. I’m the king of oversharing.”

It’s true. Blake has no boundaries, Corey hardly ever talks about sex, and I fall somewhere in the middle.

I fake a yawn. “I’m going to get an early night.”

“Uh-huh.” Blake gives me a knowing smile. “Sweet dreams.”

I throw the remote control at him, aiming roughly for his chest. He catches it with ease and laughs as I make my escape.

I look in on Corey on the way upstairs. “How’s the marking going?”

“Almost done.”

I check my watch. “Do you think you’ll have time to do some painting before you go to bed?”

Corey looks longingly at his easel. There’s a canvas on it, which is covered with a white cloth. “Not tonight.”

I tilt my head, wondering if I should try harder to convince him. I don’t but only because he looks ready to drop.

“On Saturday, why don’t you lie in as long as you want? Blake and I will take Lexi out to the park or something.”

Corey smiles. “That would be great, but I don’t spend enough time with Lexi as it is, and I rely on you and Blake far too much.”

I shrug. “You know what they say. It takes three brothers to raise a child. Think about it. I’m heading up to bed.”

“Night.”

I’m not planning on sleeping just yet. I stop via the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, then go to my room and get undressed. I pull the dog-eared copy ofDougie Clarke and the Masked Banditoff my bookshelf and settle down to read.

I can't concentrate on the words. For a start, I end up imagining that Hamish is reading to me with his sexy Scottish accent. That's probably wrong. It's a kids' book. I get up and search through all of Hamish's books on my shelves. I have more by him than any other author, but none of them are what you'd call 'sexy'. In his latest series, the protagonist, Orion King, is a confirmed bachelor. I've got some Lee Lawson books. They're normally what I turn to when I want to jack off to something other than photos of hot guys in magazines, but it’s Hamish who’s on my mind, not Lee Lawson’s amazingly smutty characters. I putDougie Clarke and the Masked Banditback on the shelf and tuck myself up in bed. I should probably get an early night anyway.

The moment I close my eyes, my brain conjures up an image of Hamish in his kitchen, leaning against his cabinets with his arms folded. Oh, fuck, the way he stares at me is sexy.

“Kneel.”