Page 79 of The Token Yank

Chapter 23

Rafe

Rafe ignored his parents calling the next morning. Instead, he continued luxuriating in Eamonn’sarms.

It had been a long night. After their shower, they laid in bed and talked about Rafe’s blurted out question. It had been on his tongue for a while. First, it was just a “wouldn’t it be nice if…” thought, but as his relationship with Eamonn became more serious, he realized he wasn’t ready to leave. He had just found his groove inEngland.

“I know I can’t stay here forever, but what if I tried to extend my study abroad trip for the rest of the year?” he had asked once they toweled off and got intobed.

“Would your school allowthat?”

“I don’t know yet. But it might be worth checking out?” Rafe phrased it as a question to gauge Eamonn’s interest. He worried that he was scaring Eamonn away. He had a bad habit of coming on too strong back at Browerton with his grand romantic gestureploys.

“You would really do that? Give up a whole year at your university to stayhere?”

“I wouldn’t stay here for you,” Rafe added. He wouldn’t put that pressure on Eamonn. “I haven’t done any traveling around Europe, and there are internships I could do here. Maybe I could work at the Stonehenge museum. And I just love being in a foreign country. I’m still taking in theculture.”

“And there’s the legal drinking agebenefit.”

“That, too.” Rafe studied Eamonn, trying to parse out if he was being nice, or if he wanted any part of this. “I know this came out unexpectedly, and it seems a little drastic. Please be honest with me, Eamonn, if you think this is a bad idea. I won’t be offended. Maybe I’ve interrupted your lifeenough.”

Eamonn kissed him. Rafe held back a wince of pain for hisface.

“You haven’t interrupted anything. These two months have been some of the greatest of mylife.”

Rafe was powerless against a statement like that. Eamonn’s eyes beamed at him. He traced a finger over Rafe’s eyebrow. But still, Eamonn hadn’t explicitly said he wanted Rafe to stay. Rafe ignored that minor observation and began doing research on Eamonn’s computer while Eamonn went to the bathroom. Browerton had an eight-point checklist for students thinking of extending their study abroad trip. That made him feel less insane. Obviously they wouldn’t have this checklist ready if other kids hadn’t extended their trips, and surely a percentage of those who extended did so for romantic reasons, statistically speaking. Rafe climbed back into bed just as Eamonn opened his bathroom door. They resumed their cuddlingposition.

Rafe’s buzzing phone cut through the morning peace of laying in Eamonn’s arms. His parents kept calling. He couldn’t ignore them. They were number six on the checklist:Get approval from parent/guardian.

Eamonn didn’t let him go so easily. His strong arms were like safety bars on an amusement park ride that wouldn’t budge until the ride came to a completestop.

“Tell them hello for me,” Eamonn mumbled with a spritely morning wood poking intoRafe.

When they kissed, Rafe felt a jab of pain, and he touched his face.Right, my bustedface.

Give me one minute, he texted hisparents.

We’re Skyping, his mom wroteback.

He tiptoed out of Eamonn’s room, hoping he was already falling back asleep. When he clicked the door shut, he heard familiar sounds coming from Heath’sdoor.

“Well, good morningLouisa.”

But it wasn’tLouisa.

“Hey.” Allison gave him the most uncomfortable, purse-lipped smile in history. Rafe watched her leave the flat. It seemed she found something in Britain she actuallyliked.

Rafe darted into his room. He was so surprised by Allison that he opened Skype asinstructed.

“Rafe! What happened?” his mom practicallyscreamed.

“What?” Then he remembered his injury, which had gotten even more Two Faced overnight. “Oh.This.”

His parents stared at him in horror and seemed to have one of their telepathicconversations.

“It looks much worse than itis.”

“How did this happen?” His mom still had a look of death onher.