Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
There was nothing else for it. He’d just have to tape it up and deliver it next door himself.
Ewan stood on the doorstep of the house next door, his heart pounding hard.
It’s no big deal. It’s only a dildo. It was an honest mistake.
Maybe if nobody was in he could just leave it on the doorstep….
He rang the doorbell, anxiety spiking higher as he heard footsteps on the stairs.
If Dev was out, he could leave it with one of the other housemates. That would probably be less embarrassing all round. But he really ought to explain what had happened.
A tall bloke with cropped dark hair opened the door. He gave Ewan a friendly smile. “Oh, hi. Ewan, isn’t it?”
He was called Mick or Max or something, Ewan couldn’t remember. Ewan and his housemates had had a party at the start of the year, and the people next door had shown up for a while, but a lot of alcohol had been involved. Since then, they’d always said hi in passing but hadn’t really spoken.
“Yeah. Hi… uh, Max, was it? Sorry, I’m shit with names.”
“Mac.”
Ewan shuffled his feet and gripped the package more tightly. Dump it and run, or fess up? If he’d ordered a sex toy and someone next door had opened it, he might freak out a little. He wanted to reassure Dev that his secret was safe—if it was a secret. Maybe Dev was out and proud and didn’t give a shit who knew about his sex toys.
Ewan decided it was better to be honest.
“Did you want something in particular?” Mac asked.
Ewan realised he’d been standing there in silence like an idiot while his brain worked through the best way to deal with the situation. “Um, yeah, sorry. Is Dev in?”
“I think so. Come in.” Mac turned, obviously expecting Ewan to follow him.
Ewan shut the door behind him and walked up the stairs behind Mac. This house was identical in layout to the one next door.
On the first landing, Mac stopped at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the top floor. “Dev?” he yelled. “You in, mate?”
“Yes” came the faint answer from above.
“You’ve got a visitor.” Mac bellowed, then spoke more quietly to Ewan. “Go on up.”
Ewan hesitated. That wasn’t what he’d envisaged. He’d hoped to thrust the package at Dev, mutter an apology for opening it, and leave. But now he had to go and invade the poor guy’s room. Maybe he should have given it to Mac and fled, but it was too late now.
He climbed the stairs, and when he rounded the corner at the top, came face to face with a surprised-looking Dev standing in the doorway to his room. Dev was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, but his feet were bare. His dark hair was rumpled as though he’d been running his hands through it. He blinked at Ewan in surprise through his thick-framed glasses.
“Hi,” Ewan said.
“Oh. It’s you.” Dev met his gaze and his cheeks flushed.
“Ewan.”
Dev’s blush deepened. “I remember. Hi.” His gaze dropped to the box in Ewan’s hands.
Ewan’s fingers curled more tightly around the package. “Um, this is a little awkward. Can I come in?”
No way was he having this conversation out on the landing.
Dev raised his eyebrows. “Sure.” He turned and walked into his room.
Ewan followed, closing the door behind him.
Dev’s room was an advertisement for how student accommodation was supposed to look, but never did in Ewan’s experience. From the perfectly organised shelves to the tidy desk and gleaming laptop, nothing was out of place. Dev even had an actual laundry basket rather than the ubiquitous pile of dirty clothes in the corner.
“So, um, what did you want?” Dev asked.
Ewan braced himself. Now he was the one blushing. “Yeah, this is awkward.” He held out the package to Dev. “I’m really sorry, but they delivered this next door by mistake, and I was expecting my new bike lights that I’d ordered from Amazon, so I opened it without checking the name. And, uh… it wasn’t my bike lights. It’s actually something for you.”
He winced, forcing himself to meet Dev’s gaze.
Confusion showed on Dev’s features at first, and then a dawning horror. Ewan expected embarrassment, but instead of turning red again, the colour drained from Dev’s olive skin, leaving him pale, with tension in every line of his slender frame. Dev glanced over Ewan’s shoulder at the closed door as though looking for an escape route.
There was a horrible, painful silence.
Ewan was still holding the package out, but Dev didn’t take it. He was staring at the package as though it was a bomb, or a severed hand or something.
“It’s okay,” Ewan said.
Dev was obviously incapable of speaking, so it was up to Ewan to salvage the situation, which had spiralled into something far more hideous than he had been expecting.