Page 42 of Total Creative Control

Or nearly happened.

Luckily, for the next half hour, they were both too busy eating to worry about anything else, engrossed in delicious battered fish and enormous portions of crispy, fluffy chips smothered in salt and vinegar.

“Bloody hell, these are good,” Lewis said when he finally came up for air.

Aaron nodded. “Everything tastes better by the sea.”

“But these arereallygood,” Lewis said, waving a chip at him. “These are the best fucking chips I’ve ever eaten.” He shoved the chip in his mouth, then sucked the salt from his fingers.

Aaron dropped his eyes back to his own food, trying not to imagine what those lips would feel like on his own.

“Do you play arcade games?” Lewis said then, gesturing to the arcade behind them. “I haven’t been to one in years.”

“Then we should go. Mum and Dad hardly ever let me in there, so I’m a bit crap. We’d play air hockey sometimes, though.”

Lewis grinned. “Iloveair hockey.”

And that’s how they spent the next hour, whizzing plastic disks across the table at each other, Lewis’s competitive streak out in full force and Aaron laughing hard at his ridiculous victory dances. Then they tried a racing game, a stupid dancing game which had them both in stitches, and finally, they wasted twenty minutes on the shove-ha'penny. Without winning a thing. Naturally.

By the time they left the arcade, it was dark. Aaron knew they should probably head back, but he was reluctant to end the evening. He’d had more fun than he’d had in a long time, more fun than he usually found anywhere but deep in his writing. It felt magical, in a way, a little soap bubble of joy he didn’t want to pop. Regretfully, he said, “I suppose we should be getting back. It'll be tricky finding our way in the dark.”

“But we haven’t got our feet wet yet.” Lewis reminded him. “Rules are rules, Aaron.” His eyes gleamed with the rainbow reflections of the arcade, lips curling into a cajoling smile.

Not that Aaron needed any cajoling.

“I suppose they are,” he said, smiling at Lewis, falling into that dark, glittering gaze. Christ, he wanted to kiss him. It felt like every nerve in his body was straining towards Lewis, yearning for his touch.

“Come on.” Lewis’s hand landed lightly on Aaron’s back, lingering tantalisingly as he turned him toward the sea.

Aaron could do nothing but comply.

On the beach, they shed their shoes and socks, rolled up their jeans, and padded over the cold sand to the water’s edge.

“Fuck!” Lewis hissed, laughing as their feet hit the water. “It’s freezing.”

“Of course it is!”

But it felt glorious too. Aaron loved the wash of the waves around his ankles, the sand shifting and sinking beneath his feet, oozing between his toes. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let the sea breeze wash over him, through him, ruffling his hair and clothes and blowing out all the cobwebs. “God, I love it here,” he said, tipping his face to the wind. “Everything feels soalive.”

And it occurred to him then that he hadn’t thought about Skye or Faolán all evening. He wasn’t even sure he could imagine them at the beach. Which was odd, because usually he could imagine them anywhere...

After a moment, quietly, Lewis said, “It’s been a fantastic evening. I’ve had…” He blew out a breath. “This was so much better than anything I’d expected to be doing tonight.”

Aaron smiled, kept his eyes closed, and for a moment—so brief he wasn’t sure it was real—he thought he felt Lewis brush his knuckles against the back of his hand.

But before he could be sure, Lewis yelped, “Wave!” and they both stumbled backwards as the surf splashed up over their ankles, soaking the ends of their rolled-up jeans. Lewis lost his balance as he scrambled up the beach, Aaron grabbed him, and suddenly they were both clinging to each other, laughing.

And then, just as suddenly, they weren’t laughing.

They were simply standing there in the moonlight, clutching each other’s arms, gazing at each other. Lewis looked dishevelled and windblown, undone in a way that transformed him from idol into someone more real, more tangible, his dark hair blowing across his forehead, and his eyes the deep blue of the twilight sky. He swallowed visibly, lips parting, chest rising and falling. Breathing hard. His fingers tightened on Aaron’s arms, drawing him closer.

Heart leaping into his throat, Aaron’s gaze locked with Lewis’s, his whole body vibrating with tension as they moved slowly closer.Yes, he thought wildly.Yes…

“Aaron…” Lewis sounded airless. “Fuck.” He screwed his eyes shut. “Fuck, we should probably get a cab back.”

“A cab?” Aaron blinked, dazed.Was he suggesting…?

But, no, Lewis had already dropped Aaron’s arms and shoved his hands into his pockets, taking a step back. Scowling down at the sand, at their bare feet, he said, “Early start tomorrow.”