JONAH

Every fibre of my being was disgusted with my behaviour. My blood ran cold as the beginnings of a migraine throbbed at the base of my skull. My reaction to Elvis’s invitation was puzzling. Here he was offering me everything I’d ever wanted, and I’d baulked.

“Dickhead!” I snapped at myself. Now I’d probably ruined any chance that Elvis would want to see me again. I heard the tumble dryer door pop open and that simple sound spurred me to take action. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to the utility room. Elvis was bent over pulling his jeans out of the machine. He was butt naked, gifting me with a perfect view of his delicious looking hole. “Fuck!” I exclaimed.

“Fuck!” Elvis yelled, jumping in shock. He scrambled about in the little room trying to cover himself. It was comical.

“It’s a little late to act coy, don’t you think?” I teased. It fell flat. His head whipped around to meet mine. He was fuming.

“The only thing I’m late for is realising what a total wanker you are.” He flounced past me to the kitchen where he proceeded to get dressed. I watched as he tried to fit into his jeans without success. It was hard not to chuckle at him as he struggled to get his legs into the tight denim, but as I was nude and we were in the vicinity of knives, I wisely decided not to risk it.

“Umm, Elvis…”

“What?” he snapped at me.

“What temperature did you set the dryer to?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “High, obviously.”

Oh, the boy had sass. “High.”

“Yes, Jonah, high. High, high, high. The clothes were very wet.”

Oh my God, he was adorable. “I think you shrunk your jeans.”

Elvis held his jeans up to inspect them. “No way…” he whined. “These are my best jeans.” He slumped on a bar stool looking utterly bereft. I took a tentative step towards him. He eyed me suspiciously.

“Tell me your size. I’ll get Pete to pick up a new pair on his way over tomorrow.”

“I told you, I’m not staying.” He pouted like a pro.

I sneered at him, not unkindly. “You can’t go out without clothes. Come back to bed and let me explain. Please.”

Elvis ran a hand though his now brown hair, pushing it back off of his handsome face. His blue eyes were shiny. “You made me feel silly. You embarrassed me, Jonah.”

“I’m the biggest fool here, baby. I’m so sorry.” I held my hand out praying with everything I had, that he would take it. He looked at it long and hard, chewing frantically on his lower lip. Finally, his shoulders dropped in defeat and he slid off the stool. He ignored my hand, as he walked back to the stairs and up to my bedroom. He took a piss, then returned to my bed. His body language remained hostile, but at least he was staying.

“I never meant to make you feel bad,” I began. “Any failing here tonight is totally mine, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am. It wasn’t my intention to spoil our lovely date, yet my silence was inexcusable. You offered me a generous invitation to join you and your family at a special time, and I cheapened it by reacting appallingly.” I was horrified to feel my eyes well up. I never cried.

“Why’d you do it then?” Elvis pressed me for a reason. He was certainly entitled to one.

“You totally blew me away with your enthusiastic offer. No one ever behaves around me the way you do. It, it requires an adjustment on my side. I’m just not used to such genuine interaction.” It was a pathetic excuse delivered poorly.

“That’s a shit answer, Joe.”

“Joe – no one ever dares call me that.”

Elvis rolled his eyes. I was glad to see his natural perky nature re-emerge, yet I had a feeling he was going to be merciless with me.

“Gahhh! No one does this and no one does that! Who the hell are you, because all I see is a man with flaws, just like the rest of us.”

“Are you always so brutally honest?” I was beginning to wonder if Elvis was ever going to forgive me.

“Look, Joe, do you want to come or not? The offer is still open. Perhaps by then you’ll have pulled the stick out of your arse long enough to actually enjoy it.”

Yup, merciless. He deserved my truth.

“I’m scared, ok? It’s been years since I celebrated Christmas with family, mine or anyone’s. I want it so badly, but I’m not exactly Mr Let Your Hair Down, in case you hadn’t noticed.” I flopped down to the mattress huffing loudly. I clasped my hands behind my head. The duvet had fallen down to my waist. To my surprise, Elvis rolled over and wrapped himself around me, laying his head on my chest.

“Fiiiiiinally,” He drawled the word out dramatically, as was his habit. I let out a nervous laugh. “Don’t worry about anything. My family won’t care you’re all stuck-up rich and whatnot. Just be yourself.” He let out such an enormous yawn I thought he was going to pop his jaw. Seconds later he was snoring softly on my chest. I pulled the covers over us and closed my eyes. My mind was racing with everything that happened today – it was both wondrous and nerve-wracking. My confident, arrogant persona had been stripped back by a beautifully sassy blue-eyed boy, and I was left feeling raw. Change was coming, and I had a feeling the instigator was sleeping in my arms.

“Need to pee!” I was jolted awake by Elvis scrambling to get to the loo. I heard the long stream of piss hit the bowl accompanied by a grateful sigh. My mouth crinkled with amusement. I’d already been up in what was left of the night to go to the toilet. “That cup of tea before bed,” Elvis explained unnecessarily as he jumped back in to bed. He shivered. “It’s freezing.” I pulled him into my side and he wriggled a bit until we fit together perfectly. He was a whirlwind of chaos in my neat and orderly life. He tilted his face up to ask me a question. “Are we really going in a helicopter later?”

“Up to you, Elvis. I can drive you back to Oxford in my car or on my bike, or Pete can take you. Or I can arrange the helicopter. You decide.”

“Can I just say how fabulous it is that you’re so rich and that I don’t feel at all guilty for taking advantage of that fact.”

“Good to know, Blue Eyes.” I dipped my head to kiss his pouty mouth. He’d clearly found my toothpaste. “Mmm, minty fresh!”

“Theoretically, this is still our first date. I don’t want to put you off with my revolting morning breath!” Elvis looked very serious.

“I’ve had your dick in my mouth, and you’re worried about morning breath?”

“No need to be vulgar, Jonah.” Elvis scrunched his nose in disgust. “What car?”

“Jaguar F-Type.”

“Oh,” he frowned.

“Oh?”

“I thought maybe it would be something flashy, like a Porsche.”

“Do I look like a 1980’s boy racer?”

“Hardly.”

“The Jag is a comfortable ride for a chap my size. I looked at the Audi R8 but I couldn’t get in it. I used to have an Aston Martin, but fancied a change. My friend, Izzy, has one.”

“And the bike? Please tell me it’s a Harley.”

I laughed. “It is. There really isn’t another option as far as I am concerned. I have one in New York too.” It struck me then how much I wanted to show Elvis the Big Apple and all its delights. My New York home was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which was filled with fantastic bars and restaurants and only just across the bridge from Lower Manhattan. It was my favourite place to live. “I tell you what, how about I drive you this time and we save the other modes of transport for when we have more time to enjoy them.” Oxford was less than an hour away and I had business to take care of at Kent Village. I told Elvis that, which seemed to appease him.

We got up and showered, exchanging hand jobs and blow jobs. I lent Elvis some sweatpants, and after we dressed, I took him down the road to the Langham for breakfast at the Roux. I couldn’t be bothered to cook and being so close to Oxford Street, there were literally dozens of places to choose from, but I wanted to spoil him with the best.

“Oh my God, this is too divine.” Elvis took to five-star treatment like a duck to water. He was amusing to watch. Being in customer service himself, I could tell he was assessing the standards and mentally making notes. I wondered what the future held for this intriguing young man and desperately hoped I would be part of it. In just a day, I was under his spell.

The waiter laughed at something Elvis had said. He was French of course, and insanely beautiful; much nearer to Elvis’s age than I was. He unfolded Elvis’s napkin and laid it across his lap. A lance of white hot possessiveness slammed into me, making me grunt. Both young men turned their heads my way.

“Shall we order?” I barked gruffly. Elvis snorted back a laugh, while the waiter promised to return shortly. “Do you always make friends that quickly?” I shook out my own napkin and laid it across my lap, annoyed that the waiter hadn’t done it yet.

“Just call me Dale Carnegie,” Elvis muttered back. I gaped at him. He cocked his head and winked at me. “Shall we look at the menu?”

“Did you just make a ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ jibe at me?”

“So, you do know who Dale Carnegie is?” His tone was patronising. Who the hell was this boy? Not the average shop worker, that was for sure. No offense to other retail employees, but his reference to the author of that book was unexpected, to say the very least. “Perhaps you should take a leaf; just saying.” Elvis went back to studying his food choices, leaving me to contemplate how I was going to make him see how serious I was about my proposal. I wondered if he even remembered me mentioning it the night before.

I called the waiter back, no longer bothered by his friendly approach to Elvis; there was no way I was giving either of them a chance to pursue that avenue. “Two Classic Langham English Breakfasts and coffee.”

“Please,” hissed Elvis from across the table.

“Please,” I added at his obvious insistence.

“Being rich doesn’t give you the right to be rude, Jonah,” he berated me, leaving me feeling all of twelve years old. He was correct, of course. No point telling him I was always very careful to treat everyone the same, often over compensating because I knew my accent placed me in a pre-judged category. It was his fault I was behaving out of character. I was unravelling at the seams under Elvis’s influence on my normal demeanour.

“I apologise.” I tried to sound sincere. It must have come across as authentic as Elvis smiled at me like I hung the moon. Something in my chest bloomed and I relaxed for the first time since entering the restaurant. Time to cash in on that feeling. “About my proposal.”

“Ah, yes, the one I told you to hold off on for today.” He leaned forward resting his arms on the table. I was glad his focus was on me.

“I had to relieve Mrs Kingsley yesterday.”

“Oh my God Jonah, that’s disgusting. Why would you tell me that?” Elvis’s shocked expression made him look like he’d swallowed something distastefully sour.

“What? No, not that.” I was horrified at his misunderstanding my words. “Not in a sexual way, for fuck’s sake.” I rolled my eyes at him. He slumped back in his chair exhaling in relief. I was beginning to think we would never have a proper conversation. “I fired her for gross misconduct.” Elvis’s eyes went wide and his mouth opened to speak, but I held up my hand to silence him. “That doesn’t mean what you’re thinking.”

“I know what it means.” He folded his arms across his chest.

“Calm your tits, Elvis. Just listen to me for a minute.” I puffed out an exasperated breath. Everything with him was insanely frustrating. “Vera was out of line. She was rude about you, then she followed it up by being extremely derogatory about Nico, my PA.”

“What did she say?” Elvis pursed his lips. “No wait, I can guess.” He sat upright and proceeded to lift his imaginary bosoms. “That young man from the tacky shoe shop, is toooooo gay!” He whispered ‘gay’ twisting his head left to right as if someone might hear him. “He doesn’t fit in here at all Mr Kent, Sir.” He’d mimicked Vera Kingsley perfectly, leaving me in fits of laughter.

“Not quite, but you certainly caught the drift of her polluted diatribe. She’s far too negative and close minded. I don’t need any more bigoted people in my life, thank you.” I wiped my eyes. “Nico will see she’s well compensated, not that she deserves it.”

“But it is Christmas and you aren’t Scrooge.”

“Thank you.” I wiped a hand over my lower face. I was used to doing multi-million dollar deals on a regular basis, yet I had butterflies in my stomach over what I was about to suggest to Elvis. “Nico can take care of business to tide us over the Christmas period, but after that, I’m going to need a new Mall Manager.”