Page 38 of Someone Like You

Ian smirked and pulled him into the bathroom, where Phil watched him strip one garment at a time, leisurely, maybe because the damp fabric clung tightly to his skin, or maybe because he just loved driving Phil insane.

Phil waited for the familiar sting of self-consciousness, but it was wiped away by a single, lustful look before it could kick in.

Ian, who was built like a god and had surely seen plenty of people way hotter than Phil, looked at him as if he was the most attractive human to have ever blessed his sight.

The water ran in the shower, steam pouring out and fogging the mirror and the window. Ian stepped closer to Phil, only a pair of black trunks left on him, doing a very poor job in containing a showy half-mast.

“You sure about this? We don’t have to—”

“Fuck it. I want to touch you. I want you to touch me .”

“Your wish is my command,” Ian whispered before drawing him into a heated kiss that ended with Phil up against the cold tiles of the shower and Ian on top of him, their soaked underwear a frustrating barrier between them as they ground against one another, desperate for friction.

Ian’s size and assertive energy were a whole new sensorial experience.

Phil let go of all control and abandoned himself to him, trusting every gesture, every caress, letting Ian lather him and rub him all over in between kisses that went from tender to hungry to tender and idle again.

It was blatant that Ian was used to leading the game, but it was just as obvious he was also used to being mindful of his partners’ cues, because none of Phil’s reactions, not even the most subtle, went unnoticed or ignored: if there was the barest trace of discomfort in the way he squirmed, Ian would readily redirect his attention to a different spot, recalibrate the pressure of his body, pause whatever he was doing to allow Phil to adjust to every new, overwhelming sensation.

His skin burned everywhere Ian kissed him, but that burn was only fueling the maddening arousal pulsing in his veins.

He was so hard by now he couldn’t even think straight.

Everywhere he groped, plump, sturdy muscles filled his palms, pushing his heart rate higher with the increasing desire.

Having Ian’s massive frame moulded all over him made his body crave things it’d never craved before, and Phil could only arch, grasp, moan, and beg, barely aware of his surroundings.

A whimper of protest grazed up his throat when Ian’s mouth left one of his nipples to suck its way up to his ear to whisper: “Just say stop and I’ll stop. ”

Phil didn’t understand at first. Most of his blood was pooled very far from his brain, leaving his mind foggy and unreceptive.

A spark of awareness hit him when Ian sank down to one knee and, locking eyes with him, carefully tugged his briefs down, then a sudden shock of pleasure blanked out his vision, and from there on everything became a delicious, mind-blowing agony.

* * *

When his senses came back to him, he was in Ian’s arms, wrapped up in a towel that felt unbearably coarse in spots he was still overwhelmingly sensitive.

He was floating on a cloud of bliss, ripples of the fading climax still washing through him.

He was eased down on a soft surface that it took him a moment to identify as Ian’s bed, heaving like he’d run a fifty-mile marathon and just as boneless.

The mattress sank next to him. Squinting at the ceiling, drowsy and still vaguely disoriented, he could feel the heat of Ian’s presence at his side, grounding and reassuring.

It would’ve been a lie to say he’d missed this — the touching and the physical pleasure and the sex in general —, but he felt good. Really good . Like the suffocating noose he’d been carrying around his neck for so long had loosened dramatically.

“Jesus fuck ,” he panted, his limbs so limp he could hardly move. “Where did you learn to do that ?”

The low rumble of Ian’s chortle vibrated all around him. “A girl taught me.”

“Seriously?”

“Aye. The things she could do with that mouth…”

Phil turned his head towards him, laughing. “I gotta learn some tricks or the competition’s gonna squash me. Although…” His laugh became a soft puff. “Not gonna lie, being a pillow princess is kinda awesome. A guy could get used to it.”

Ian laughed, too, eyes twinkling with a bright emotion that looked very much like happiness. “Knew you were just a spoiled brat. ”

“Sue me.”

“Cocky prick.”

“A bit redundant, don’t you think?”

Phil didn’t leave any room for a retort.

Rolling to his side, he draped an arm across Ian’s torso and tucked himself against him.

In no time he was wrapped up in a solid, comforting embrace.

Ian’s pecs, so plump and hard, weren’t the most comfortable pillow to rest on, but he couldn’t have cared less. He would be happy to rot here for days.

Ian glanced down at him with a lifted eyebrow. “Of course you’re a little spoon.”

“Duh.” Phil sneaked a leg between Ian’s.

His body felt exhausted but he didn’t want to fall asleep and miss a single second of this.

His lips brushed against Ian’s pec as he settled more comfortably.

Ian rolled to his side, too, allowing Phil to sink his leg further between his and tangle their ankles together.

He brought a hand up to Phil’s neck and dropped a languid kiss to his lips, taking his time to savour and explore. That tongue knew what it was doing.

Phil splayed a hand on Ian’s side, marvelling at how massive it was, and gingerly trailed up to the ribs, to the broad expanse of the back.

It was like touching a breathing sculpture, warm and soft and inviting.

Ian let Phil map his body inch by inch, all the while keeping his hand on Phil’s neck and his eyes trained into Phil’s, ready to register every emotion flashing into them.

But Phil was quite sure that whatever sentiment his features might display at the moment would be entirely swallowed up by the pure, unadulterated joy he was bursting with.

“You should see your dumb face right now,” Ian smirked.

“I can feel my dumb face, thank you very much.”

Fondness seeped into Ian’s smirk, melting all the teasing away. Phil was familiar with that look: it was how Abby looked at him every day.

“You hungry?”

Ian’s husky murmur spread goosebumps all over Phil’s arms. He was indeed starving. He had no idea what time it was by now, but, according to the darkness of the sky outside, it was definitely way past dinner time.

“I can order us something,” he said, lifting his wrist to eye-level to pull up the Uber Eats app. There was a text notification.

Abby

I’m confident I won’t be seeing either of you before tomorrow

Enjoy your night, lads

P.S. saucy pics welcome

He laughed under his breath, overflowing with gratitude and love.

“What?” Ian enquired. Phil showed him the texts. It led to a moment of silence. “Will this woman ever cease to amaze me?”

“Nah. You’ll get used to it, though.”

“Doubt it.”

“Lend me your phone.”

“What for?”

“She wants saucy pics.”

Ian scoffed, but still blindly reached over to the nightstand behind him to retrieve his phone and give it to Phil.

“How do I unlock it?”

“It’s not locked.”

Phil swiped and the screen did, in fact, go straight to the homepage. “That’s a safety hazard.”

“No one would steal cheap shite like this. They want to leak my camera roll? Fine. The internet will love five thousand cat pics.”

“Five thousand cat pics and a thirst trap ,” Phil corrected, lifting up the phone above them. He wasn’t used to Android, but after a couple of failed attempts he successfully got the camera to open and turn to selfie mode.

“Want me to bare my ankles?” asked Ian.

“C’mere, jerk.” Phil adjusted the framing to make sure it showed a good view of Ian’s chest .

“My eyes are up here, ye know?”

“Saucy pics require saucy tits.”

“You’re recordin’ a video, ya daftie.”

“Ah, shit.”

Ian averted the phone towards himself and looked straight into the camera. “Let’s look at the bright side, Abigail: at least he’s pretty.”

“Fuck off!” Phil could curse all he wanted, but he couldn’t have deceived anyone: he was hopelessly smitten and it showed.

He opened WhatsApp and found out Abby’s texts had actually been sent to a chat group that involved herself, Phil, and Ian.

He sent the video to Abby, trusting she’d love it as much as he did, then noticed the chat’s title: ‘Whit’s fur ye’ll no go past ye’ .

His Scottish wasn’t great, but it didn’t take a genius to get this one.

“ What’s meant for you won’t pass you by .”

“No, shit.” A snort tickled his ear. “It’ll run right into you at the park.”

A pleasant heat spilled into Phil’s chest as he mirrored Ian’s big, stupid grin. He was certain that had been precisely Abby’s thought when she’d named the chat.

He was having a hard time processing what was happening.

He was in bed with a man, practically naked.

A man he loved.

A man who loved him .

With the blessing of the woman he loved.

It didn’t seem fair, not when most people out there didn’t have a fraction of what he had.

A reply popped up on the phone:

Abigail

Pretty and happy

That’s all I wanted to se e

Phil blushed to his toes. It was going to take some getting used to this. Ian snatched the phone to reply, forcing Phil to crane his neck to spy what he was typing.

You

Promise I’ll get him home in time for his medication

Abigail

We’ve got a keeper here, Phil I’ll be waiting for you both with a luscious breakfast

You both.

So Phil would get to spend the night with Ian, wake up with him on Sunday morning and go home to Abby with him, and all three of them would sit together in the kitchen and…

He wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

Knowing Abby’s curious nature and incorrigible brazenness, it wasn’t unlikely she’d be expecting details , which Ian would most likely be happy to provide, for the mere pleasure of flustering Phil.

A family-like sort of dynamic, something Phil had daydreamed about, never truly believing it would ever be anything more than an unrealistic fantasy, because what were the odds ?

“Where’s the catch?” he wondered out loud.

“Be more specific.”

Phil sighed. “In all of this. I get to keep Abby, I get to have you… Isn’t it, like… too much ? It’s like winning the lottery twice.”

Ian pulled himself up to a sitting position. “No catch.” He patted Phil’s thigh way too energetically. “You’re just a lucky bastard.”

“Talk about an understatement.”

It still sounded too easy, but he guessed he would have to accept that, for once, the simplest answer was the correct one: he was a lucky bastard.

He didn’t know if there was a god to thank for this, or the stars, of destiny, or if it had truly been just a chain of random events with a very fortunate outcome.

All he knew was that it would’ve made him feel better to have a source to be thankful to, to know that all this luck had been intentionally bestowed on him rather than raining on him for no reason — that it was rightfully his and couldn’t be taken from him by a whim of chance.

“I can hear you overthinkin’,” Ian chided, glancing back at Phil.

“Yeah, sorry.” Phil sat up with a groan. “So, what do you want for dinner?”

“Just feed me, Handsome. I’m a simple guy.”

“Don’t complain when the food arrives.”

“Said the professional complainer.”

In the end, Phil ordered burritos from one of his and Abby’s favourite restaurants.

“Estimated delivery time: half an hour,” he conveyed. “Think you can lend me some clothes in the meantime?”

Ian tutted. “You’re mental if you think I’m goin’ to put clothes on you.”

“Wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when you have to tell Abby you let me die of hypothermia.”

“Never said I wasn’t going to keep you warm .”

The deep, scratchy brogue spread a wave of hot tingles all over Phil’s body.

That was admittedly very effective. Phil let Ian push him back into the mattress and pin his wrists at the sides of his head to capture his lips into an agonisingly delicate kiss.

His legs pliantly spread to welcome Ian’s bulk, but as the kiss started deepening a weird impression convinced Phil to crack an eye open, realising there was a spectator in the room.

“Your cat’s watching us.”

“Let her,” Ian mumbled, unbothered, but Phil kept feeling those huge amber eyes judging him from the doorway.

“Stop, for fuck’s sake!” There was no way to inject any irritation into a single word. Phil laughed into the kiss until he mustered enough willpower to nudge Ian back. “We’re not making out in front of her!”

Ian grudgingly rolled off him and off the bed to head straight to the wardrobe by the door. “Thanks for the cockblocking, Kibbs!” he grumbled to the cat, who responded with a sassy slow blink that effortlessly thawed Ian’s faux pique into sheer adoration .

“Jesus, she’s got you wrapped around her little paw.”

“Are you seriously jealous of a cat ?”

Before Phil could retort, a balled up t-shirt collided with face, followed by a hoodie and a pair of joggers. Ian moved to the chest of drawers in the corner and tossed him some underwear, too. Everything was at least two sizes too large, but it’d have to do.

He managed to pull up the briefs, but then got distracted by Ian getting dressed. This was… normal. Perfectly ordinary, unspecial, a random slice of life billions of people went through every day and probably took for granted.

But Phil didn’t.

Getting dressed. Showering. Having sex. Joking. Laughing. Feeling.

The man Abby had met and had fallen in love with was gone, but there was a new, stronger Phil crawling out of that man’s ashes, with a whole new story to write and two hands to hold as he learned to live again.

Lucky bastard indeed .

He clutched the mass of clothes to his bare chest, relishing the familiar, comforting scent of the fabric. If Ian thought he was going to get these clothes back, he was sorely wrong.

A hand curled under his chin to tip his head back, loving blue eyes staring right into his soul.

“You alright?”

Phil dreamily smiled back at Ian. He couldn’t remember when it had become second nature again.

“Never better.”