Chapter 27

"We'd like you to have this." Justin hands me an envelope when I finish his latest dance lesson with Mark. Equal measures of surprise and pleasure rush through me as I see the very elegant handwriting addressed to both Nick and me.

I open it carefully, not wanting to rip it so I can show it to Nick later. The card inside is beautifully decorated and I unfold it. It's an invitation to their wedding. I whistle when I see the venue, Wortley Hall. That's an impressive, former stately home turned hotel just outside the city.

"It's, it's . . ." I'm speechless. "Are you sure?"

Justin laughs, and Mark comes over and puts an arm across his shoulder. "Of course we're sure. We hope you can both come."

Mark joins in. "Justin thinks that having you there will ensure he doesn't forget any of the steps to our dance."

"Oh, you're going to be just fine," I reassure them. They've improved a lot and I am sure they're practising a lot on their own. "But thank you. Can I get back to you when I've shown this to Nick?" Our first invite anywhere as a couple. It's thrilling, but apart from going to Brazen, which is a gay club, and spending time with Riley and Kieran, I haven't been anywhere else with Nick as his boyfriend. But I remind myself that this is Justin and Mark's wedding, so of course it's going to be fine.

"Sure, just text us on the number on the invite as soon as you know. We'll see you next week," Mark says.

"You don't have to keep coming for lessons. You already know what you're doing—you just need to practise." I'll hate to see them go, but I don't want to take their money needlessly.

"Do you know, that whilst we have enjoyed planning this wedding—since our mothers wouldn't let us run off to Gretna Green, and vetoed a quiet ceremony at the registry office—it's turned into a behemoth of a thing to organise. Coming here once a week is a lovely respite from that. We can enjoy ourselves and not feel guilty that we aren't doing something wedding related. It relaxes us to be here."

Justin continues. "We've been talking, and after the wedding, we'd like to come and join some classes, if you'll have us. We want to learn the dances properly."

"Of course. You're welcome to join any of our classes. It doesn't take long to get the bug, does it?" I ask, and see their wide smiles in answer.

The same smile that I wear for Nick as he walks into the studio half an hour later. I show him the invite and he's as thrilled as I am.

"Shall we go?" I ask, and once I receive his yes, I send a text off to Justin, receiving a thumbs-up emoji in return. A few minutes later, Nick's initial excitement at the invitation has faded, and he's slumped in one of the chairs bordering a side of the studio, his head bowed.

"What's up, babe?" I say, hunkering down between his knees to stare up at his face. The endearment slips out easily, surprising us both. He notices and flashes me a brilliant smile before his face drops again. That he hasn't picked up on it and thrown me some saucy banter indicates that something is wrong.

He sighs. "It's just a little hard right now. We've been looking at retirement villages for my gran. I know she wants to go somewhere that has better access and she says there will be company for her, but it feels like we've failed her, and I'm going to miss her. I don't think there's been a day in my life when I haven't been around to say hello and make her a cup of tea."

I put my hands on his thighs and give them a comforting rub. He places his hands on top of mine and gives me a little smile.

"Sorry, Krystal will be here soon. I'm not good company, I'll go."

"Stay Nick, please?" I don't want to see him like this. "You look beat. Why don't you go up to my room for a bit and I'll find you later?"

He nods and I stand, helping him up, too. I give him a hug and, for a few seconds, he rests his head on my shoulder.

"I like babe," he whispers, and then pulls away to disappear upstairs. I try to ignore the desire to run after him and hold him again. Instead, I put on some music and do some warmups until Krystal arrives, getting my brain in gear. I still have my school to save.

After Krystal and I have been through all of our planned dances several times, there's nothing more we can do. If we're not ready now, we never will be. We'll rest tomorrow and then the competition begins on Saturday. I do feel sorry for her, that Andrew is injured and he can't compete, even if that does give me a chance this year.

When I pass through the kitchen, my dad calls to me.

"Darcy, you know you don't have to dance—" I don't want to hear what he has to say right now, mostly because there's nothing he can say, and I'm eager to see Nick.

"It's alright, Dad. I'm ready, and I want to win this—for us." I keep on walking to my room.

Nick is sprawled out on my bed; he must have fallen asleep. I sit down gently, taking in his tousled hair and his face, soft in slumber. I feel incredibly lucky to have him in my life. I don't want to wake him, but I also can't resist the overwhelming urge to touch him. I lay down next to him, pressing myself along his side, wanting to connect at as many points as possible. He makes a low hum and turns towards me, flinging his arm across me. He doesn't give any other indication that he's awake. Still, I can't prevent myself from reaching out and running a hand down his side and over his hip, moving my hand over his firm, round ass.

"If you're going to turn me on, then you'd better be prepared to do something about it," he murmurs sleepily, his eyes blinking awake, mouth curving into a smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." I smirk slightly, and he rolls onto his back, pulling me on top of him.

"Yes, you did," he says, and grabbing my ass with both hands, he grinds his hips upwards leaving me in no doubt that he's rock hard.

"That wasn't my touch," I tease. "You must have been dreaming about me in your sleep."

"Either way, it's your fault." He grinds a bit more, which is making my cock take notice. I raise myself up so I can sit astride his thighs.

I peel off my T-shirt, and get an appreciative, "Very nice, keep going," as he stretches back on the bed.

I jump off and make sure my bedroom door is locked. Since the thrill of him jerking me off while his gran was just in the next room, we've become more daring. We haven't had penetrative sex yet, partly because of waiting for the results from the clinic—which came through negative a few days ago—and partly from a lack of opportunity. I want to wait until we have the house to ourselves again, and Nick agrees. But we have become very adept at using what time we do have and being quiet about it.

I turn Bearlero round on the dresser so he's facing the wall.

"Why'd you do that?" Nick snorts.

"His innocent eyes don't need to see this." Another snort.

I strip down to my briefs and go to sit beside him again. He pouts a little. "I want to see your pretty cock." I take them off as well and he hums in agreement. "Beautiful."

I tug on his T-shirt and he sits up enough for me to pull it up over his head, and I feast my eyes on his perfect abs as he lowers himself back down again.

I unbuckle his jeans and peel them off, catching sight of the lace underneath. He's wearing a black pair of lace shorts and the contrast between the dark lace and his pale skin is tantalising. I have no idea why it looks so good, but I can barely take my eyes off him. I run my fingers up and down his cock, which is stretching the front of the shorts and making the lace work hard to contain him. I climb back onto the bed and settle between his thighs. I lean forward and kiss him deeply, his hands on my ass the whole time, and whilst that feels fantastic, I have other plans. I abandon his mouth and kiss down his neck to his chest. I take one nipple in my mouth, first sucking, then taking it between my teeth and tugging slightly, watching as he arches off the bed with a groan. I apply my mouth to his other nipple before working my way across those amazing abs to the treasure trail that leads to lace.

I slowly lick up his hard cock, feeling the texture of the lace on my tongue, pushing the tip through the holes to the skin beneath.

"Yes, D," he moans softly, and I add a bit more pressure. I place my mouth round his cockhead, drawing as much as I can into my mouth, moving the lace with my tongue and feeling him jerk at the friction. I need to taste him properly. Taking hold of the top of the shorts with my teeth, I pull them down, releasing his cock with a bounce. I swirl my tongue through his precum before stretching my lips round the end and sucking him in. I slide my mouth slowly up and down, tonguing round the head and playing it along the vein running up the underside. He makes the most delightful groan, but I want to tease him a bit longer, so I withdraw until I just have my lips round the tip, adding more pressure to his cockhead. I hum in pleasure as Nick lifts his hips, trying to chase my mouth, and I tongue his slit. I can't resist a smile of satisfaction, hearing him whispering please, please, please under his breath, but I leave him a second longer before plunging down, taking all of him in one go. My own cock is aching painfully, but I don't want to get distracted from what I'm doing, so I try to ignore the desperation to touch it.

"Fuucck, D." His hips crash into the bed and I allow him to hit the back of my throat, forcing myself to relax and breathe round the gag reflex. I hollow my cheeks and suck him in and out, watching his thighs tremble and his hands fist the sheets until he shudders and jerks, his release filling my mouth. I slowly let his deflating cock slide out of my mouth, and swallow it all. I sit back and see his cheeks are flushed a pretty shade of pink, accentuating his blue eyes as he smiles at me.

He beckons me forward and I move up the bed. When I reach his chest, he clasps my ass and pulls me forward until I'm kneeling over his face.

"My turn." He grins before he engulfs the whole of my cock in his mouth. The relief of having pressure on it is indescribable. I rest my arms on the wall, but I cannot keep my hips from moving and they thrust in time with his mouth as he makes slurping noises round me.

I know I'm not going to last long and I make the mistake of looking down at him, seeing his eyes locked onto mine, his glistening lips holding all of me.

"Oh fucking hell, babe," I exclaim, as he flicks his magic tongue up and down while still taking every one of my thrusts. He moves one of his hands so his fingers play up and down my crease, causing my spine to tingle and my balls to tighten, and I thrust harder. He grazes across my hole, just once, and that's all it takes to push me over the edge, my orgasm washing through me. Nick takes every single drop and releases me from his grip, but it's a few minutes before I feel able to push off from the wall and lie down on the bed, curling into his waiting arms.