Page 18 of C is for Comfort

My niece and nephew throw themselves at me.

“You’re the best, Uncle Spence,” Robbie says.

“Thank you!” Tabitha says.

I ruffle their hair as I glare at their dad, but he just shrugs and mouthsthank you.

We move through to the kitchen. Emily has put every pancake topping imaginable on the table. We all sit and start tucking in. Family life isn’t so bad, especially when you get to hand the kids back to their parents, pumped up with sugar and additives at the end of the day.

5

Corey

“You haven’t touched that marking,” Archie says. “What’s up?”

I blink and look at what I’m supposed to be doing—marking year eight’s mask studies. The next thing they’ll be doing is designing their own and then eventually making them. I’ve been daydreaming instead of marking, which is a complete waste of my Lexi-free morning. And yet… so nice.

“Talk,” Archie says.

“I was thinking about last night, that’s all.”

“I saw you getting your brains banged out.”

I stare at him, horrified. I hadn’t noticed him at all. It was one thing having sex in front of strangers, but if I’d known Archie was in the same room… I rub my hands over my face.

“It’s cool,” Archie says. “I didn’t stand and gawp or anything.”

I fold my arms on the table and bury my face in them. “Stop talking!”

“We’ve done kinky shit in front of each other before.”

“Never naked. And never having sex.” Getting spanked in front of my brothers is completely different to having sex in front of them.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It looked like you were having a good time.”

“Stop!”

“I’m glad you had a good time. Who was he?”

I look up. “If I share, you’re going to want to share too, aren’t you?”

Archie grins at me like the cat that got the cream. “Yeah.”

“Things went well with you and Hamish?”

His smile becomes dreamy. “Yeah.”

“Where’s Blake?”

Archie shrugs. “In bed. Why?”

“Because I might as well get the embarrassment over and done with once rather than getting grilled by you andthenBlake.” I look at the clock on the wall. We’ve probably got an hour tops before Mum and Dad bring Lexi home. “Let’s go wake him up.”

“Sure.”

We traipse up to the top floor and walk straight into Blake’s room. He’s lying in bed, with his quilt tucked around his waist and his phone in his hand.

“Hey!” he says. “I could have been doing anything.”