Page 78 of A is for Aftercare

Archie

It’s been a great week. Hamish and I have worked hard and played even harder. We’ve proved, I hope, that we can work together and be in a relationship. Hamish certainly smashed his daily word goal on his Orion King novel and got plenty of words written on the Lee Lawson book he’s still affectionately callingArcher and His Bear.I've especially enjoyed him reading those words to me when we're snuggled up in bed together.

It’s Saturday evening, and amazingly, we’re all able to go out. Lexi’s grandparents on her mum’s side whisked her away until Sunday morning. After some prompting, Corey decided to go and see the guy he hooked up with at the kink party. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him run out the door so fast. He was gone within ten minutes of Lexi leaving.

“Which one should I wear?” I ask Blake, holding up two different shirts. One is black, the other dark red.

“Where’s Hamish taking you?” Blake is lounging on my bed, paying more attention to his phone than to my clothing predicament.

“The Marine Room.”

“Never heard of it.”

“Me neither, but I’m guessing it’s seafood.”

Blake looks up and stares at my reflection in the mirror. “You think?” His voice drips with sarcasm. “Let me look it up.”

I drape the shirts over my chest of drawers and search my wardrobe for some other alternatives. I’ve got a couple of ‘safe’ options, one white, one light blue with a slightly shimmery thread running through it.

Blake whistles. “It’s posh. There’s nothing on the menu below twenty pounds.”

My eyes bug out of my head. “Nothing?”

“No food anyway. The cheapest starter is twenty. The cheapest main is forty.”

I gulp. “Shit.”

“Hamish is spoiling you.”

I look at all four shirts, doubting that any of them are going to be nice enough.

“Wear the red,” Blake says.

“Are you sure?” I’m pretty sure Blake’s never been to such a posh restaurant either.

“It’s the best colour on you.”

I spray myself with another round of antiperspirant and splash some aftershave on before pulling the shirt on. I do look good in it.

Blake puts on an affected cough. "You might want to go easy on the aftershave, though. You want to be able to smell the food you're eating."

I hook my upper lip in an unamused sneer.

“And don’t walk into the restaurant with that expression on your face.” Blake grins at me.

“Should I wear a tie?”

“No. And for fuck’s sake, undo the top button. You look like you’re going to a job interview rather than out on a date with the guy you’ve been screwing pretty much daily for the past two weeks.”

“Jealous?”

“Nope.”

I undo the top button, as he suggested. Then I grab some gel to run through my hair to keep it back off my face. I don’t know how Blake can stand to have his hair flopping forward.

“You look great,” Blake says.

“You’re sure?”