december, age 16
Asher’s seventeenth birthday fell on a Saturday, one week before school was due to finish. It seemed barbaric to most of the students that they had to keep going until the twenty-second of December, the vast majority of the exciting Christmas run-up wasted in the classroom, and many of the teachers agreed. While the private schools in the area had already broken up, St Matthew’s had no intention of releasing the pupils so soon.
The last week of term never meant anything more than teachers drilling into them that they had their mock exams in January, the same thing they had been repeating since the start of September. It was getting old now, and the boys were prepared. Sixth form seemed to suit Asher: the teachers were more understanding; the classes were smaller; his grades were better.
After getting used to his comfortable Bs, except for his fairly consistent As in art, he had seen a spike recently. It was as though the subjects suddenly made sense after five years of struggle, his brain wrapping around the facts with newfound ease. As his peers found physics more and more difficult, it was clicking all of a sudden; the theory side of his design and technology class had fallen into place.
In the least patronising way possible, Lucas couldn’t be prouder of his best friend. Over the past few months, he had watched his transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly; from a struggling student to one enjoyed the classes that were suddenly working in his favour. They had always spent a lot of time together but now, sharing physics as one of the most notoriously tricky A-levels, the two spent even more time working on past papers together.
Along with Mika and Mawar, they had formed an unofficial study group. Despite having four different timetables, they had one free double period each week that they had taken to spending together in whatever empty classroom they could find. In that seventy-five minute period, they helped each other out with whatever needed the most help: sometimes Mika and Mawar worked on political essays together; sometimes Mawar and Lucas got together to break down what their history assignment was asking them to do while Mika and Asher discussed what they were doing for their art coursework, sharing pieces they had come across that would help the other.
Mawar had slipped into the group with ease. She was friendly and bright and she had never said a single thing that could be taken the wrong way: she and Mika were virtual twins, Lucas thought, two of the most impossibly nice people he had ever met, though Mawar did have a bit of a wild side that had come out after a month or so. Behind her innocent eyes was a brilliantly dark humour that had shocked Lucas at first, though he was growing used to it. He quite liked it, in fact. She was fun and she was funny, and nothing seemed to faze her. And, without pushing him, she helped him to step out of his box.
Every Wednesday, the sixth form had games all afternoon. From two until four, they were expected to play a sport or head to the gym, or pursue their own physical activity off school grounds. Mawar took full advantage of that leeway: after lunch, she signed the four of them out under the pretence that they were heading to their own gym and they headed into town. At first, Lucas had felt bad for skipping games until she had pointed out how much he hated it and how pointless it was. The P.E. teachers didn’t care about anyone except their own teams.
What had once been a part of the week that Lucas feared, bunking off school to head to the coffee shop, was now one of his favourite times.
*
The sun disappeared early in December, the light fading before it was even four o’clock on the dark Saturday afternoon and by seven o’clock, the sun was long gone. Although Farnleigh was lit up by the glow of shops and cars, the sky over Rooks Hollow was heavy and black, dotted with the stars that could be seen in the countryside. With hardly any houses around other than Asher’s, it was ordinarily deadly quiet with only the occasional crunch of tyres on gravel if someone dropped by or an expostulation of foul language if Ishaana stubbed her toe.
But not tonight. Tonight the house was ablaze with dancing lights and music that pumped and thumped like a heartbeat. The sound of the party could be heard across any of the four fields that surrounded the house but it was utterly isolated from anyone that remotely resembled a neighbour. Except for the occasional farmer herding cattle or collecting crops, hardly a soul passed by the house. Most that did had taken a wrong turn at some point in their journey, trundling down the road that led to the house and little more.
Lucas wasn’t much of a party animal. He wasn’t a party animal in the slightest, preferring a quiet night in with his family to any kind of social gathering. Even too many members of his own family was too much like a party: he didn’t much like the big family gatherings at his grandparents’ house with all of his aunts and their families, which seemed to be constantly expanding. Laura and Claire had three children now, having adopted Zachary more than a year ago, and just one week ago they had added a daughter to their family. After struggling through the system for ten months, they had been elated to bring home five-year-old Haiya.
As much as Lucas liked to have a big family, as much for the novelty as anything else, he couldn’t deal with all of them in one place at the same time. When his mother was with her sisters, she seemed to change: she slipped back into big sister mode while her four sisters all fought for attention. They seemed to want to impress her, which amused Lucas when he knew that all his mother wanted was to be a good role model for her siblings. She had changed around Tom too, learning at last how to treat him like her brother despite the years that separated them.
Asher’s party wasn’t one he was going to miss. Even though he didn’t talk to more than his trusted handful of people in his year, he couldn’t miss out on celebrating his best friend’s birthday with him. At least it was at his house, he had thought: he knew he could slip away any time he needed to take five and recharge. While the house itself was enormous, so too were the outbuildings.
Over the past couple of weeks, Asher had enlisted his parents’ help to clean out the barn to use as a venue and it looked incredible. Lights hung from the rafters, speakers in each corner, and the centre of the room had been cleared as a bit of a dance area. All around the edges were mismatched sofas and chairs that the family had collected over the years and never bothered to throw out, the excess furniture ending up in one of the various buildings around the house.
With a cider in his hand, Lucas wandered around the chilly garden to clear his head and cool down. It was a bit too loud for him, the music and voices muddling together so that he couldn’t hear a single word anyone said if they spoke to him, though that wasn’t a frequent occurrence. While Mawar was showing off her moves with a few drinks in her system, Mika had disappeared off with Tom, whose appearance at the party had surprised even Lucas. He had thought there was no way in hell that his painfully shy uncle would show up and yet he had allowed Mika to persuade him.
“Hey!” Asher called out, tripping out of the barn. He had a red cup in his hand, some kind of indistinguishable alcohol inside, and a tipsy grin on his lips. “There you are.”
“Hi,” Lucas said. “I just needed to take a break.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Asher said with a smile on his face. When Lucas had shown up an hour before the party was due to start, expressing his worries that he wouldn’t be much fun but he didn’t want to miss out, Asher had made it crystal clear that he was just happy to have him there at all. He expected nothing of his friend, quietly beaming that he had wanted to come. “Whatever you need. Hey, try this.”
Lucas glanced at the cup. His vision wasn’t the best when day turned to night, his glasses struggling to help him pick up the murky shades of dusk, and he couldn’t even tell what colour the liquid was. As far as he could see, it was black. “What on earth is that?”
“Long island iced tea,” he said, holding it out. “Don’t worry, it’s safe. Mawar made it.”
“What’s in it.”
Asher pursed his lips and frowned as he thought about it. “Um … tequila and vodka, some kind of rum, a bit of gin I think. There was another one, something orangey, and Coke.”
“That sounds dis-“
“I know, I know, it sounds really gross, right?” Asher laughed and took a swig. “That’s what I said too. But it’s so good. Give it a go?”
Lucas took the cup. He trusted Asher, even when he’d had a drink. In fact, he trusted him even more then. Asher was a victim of the classic saying: in his case, a drunk man’s words really were a sober man’s thoughts. It wasn’t just that he didn’t lie when he was drunk – he tended to tell the truth. All of it.
Tentatively, bringing the cup slowly to his lips, Lucas took a sip. He was pleasantly surprised by the drink, which didn’t taste nearly as potent as the description had made it sound. He took another sip. Asher grinned.
“Good, isn’t it?”
“Mmm. I like that.” Lucas passed it back but he was met by a head shake.
“You can keep that. I’ll go get another. Don’t move.” He dramatically pointed at Lucas, moving his finger in a loose circle, and almost stumbled over his own feet as he headed back into the barn. Standing alone outside, Lucas finished off the nearly empty cider in his hand in order to get rid of the can in favour of the new drink.
A moment later, Asher tipped out once more and clinked his plastic cup against Lucas’s.
“Cheers!” he cried out. “Are you ok? Are you having fun? I don’t want you to hate being here.” He pouted, gently pushing Lucas’s shoulder. He was always a little more touchy feely when he was drunk.
“Yeah, it’s good,” Lucas said with a smile. He had surprised himself by enjoying the party in his own way. He was familiar with the house and grounds, which instantly settled his mind and he was free to come and go as he pleased. The guests weren’t allowed inside the main house but Ishaana had taken Lucas to one side to ensure that he knew the rule didn’t apply to him. He was part of the family, she had told him as she had prepared supper, and she wanted him to know that he was more than welcome to hang out inside if he wanted to.
“Are you sure?” Asher asked.
Lucas nodded. “It’s your party, Asher. You should be enjoying it. You don’t need to be out here worrying about me. I’ll come in later.”
“You don’t have to, you know,” he said. “You don’t have to do anything. It’s more than enough that you’re here.”
Lucas smiled. “Have I ever missed one of your birthdays?”
Asher grinned. “Nope. And I hope you never will. And hey, you know, if you want a bit of peace and quiet, feel free to use my room.”
“Thanks.”
“D’you mind if I head back in?”
“Not at all, go ahead.” He sipped his drink. He had had a late introduction to alcohol, only recently that he had learnt to enjoy it while Asher had been partial to a cider in the comfort of his own home since he was fourteen. “I’ll see you later.”
“Alright,” Asher said, clapping Lucas on the back. “See you! Love you, man!” He jogged off back into the barn and Lucas swallowed a mouthful of his drink to cool his flickering stomach, though it only seemed to make his heart burn stronger.
He wandered up the garden, heading back towards the main house. He needed water, he reckoned, and somewhere quiet. The house was the place to be, where Bishop and Ishaana had been watching television with their daughter the last time he had been up. Their adoption of Sadie had been made official not too long after they had taken her in, immensely aided by the fact that Tori had been smart enough to name them in her will. For a couple of months now, they had officially been Sadie’s parents, a role they had thrown themselves into with gusto. To an outsider, there was no sign that she wasn’t their biological child, especially when Ishaana religiously dyed the grey out of her hair.
No-one seemed to be around when he headed into the kitchen, taking a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water from the dispenser in the fridge. Glass in hand, he wandered down the hallway to the grand staircase, pulling himself up to the first floor and along the landing to Asher’s room where he had left his phone charging. His mother had probably texted.
She had been a little nervous about him going to the party, knowing that it wasn’t his kind of thing at all, and he was sure that she would have sent him a message to check that everything was ok. Before he had left, she had told him to give her a call any time and she would come and get him. Her worrying had irritated him when he was younger, though he had since realised that it meant she understood him better than he had ever given her credit for.
Before he could get there, though, he heard voices coming from the other side of a half-open door and he poked his head around to see Ishaana sitting on a turquoise duvet with her arm around her daughter’s shoulders, holding a book open with her other hand as she read to her. She looked up when she heard him, a smile on her lips.
“Hey, Lucas,” she said, her voice soft. “Everything ok?”
He nodded. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Oh, no, it’s ok,” she said. “You can stay, if you want. We’re just reading the classics.” She held up the book in her hand with a laugh: The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar.
“Stay,” Sadie said quietly, reaching across her mother to Lucas. She had latched onto him over the past couple of months as though she had somehow sensed that he too was an outsider that the family had taken in. He didn’t mind. He quite liked the little girl who enjoyed being read to as much as she enjoyed having pretend tea parties and trying to play football with her brothers. Not yet two-and-a-half, she wasn’t particularly good and the ball was half as big as her, but she loved the game.
“Ok,” Lucas said. He sat down on the end of the bed, his back against the wall and his legs crossed. He nodded at the book. “My mum used to read that to me.”
“My mum read it to me, too,” Ishaana said. “Good books never die, and what’s better than an insatiably starving insect?” She turned the page but she didn’t resume reading just yet. “How’s it going out there?”
“It’s good,” he said, “it’s just not really my scene. But people are having a good time.”
“I’m glad. What’s Asher up to?”
“He’s playing the host,” Lucas said. Asher was a natural host, making friends wherever he went. His confidence always seemed to be growing, to the point that he happily struck up conversation at bus stops or with cashiers. It had at first embarrassed Lucas a little, though now it just tickled him. Asher was a social creature in all the ways that he wasn’t, the two of them chalk and cheese, and yet they had latched onto each other and had yet to let go. “He’s having a really good time, and he introduced me to Long Island iced tea.” He held up the cup.
“I had no idea his tastes were so sophisticated,” she said with a laugh.
“Mawar made it.”
“There we go.” Her eyes creased when she grinned. “I’m glad it’s going well. You just taking five?”
“Yeah. I’m not much of a partier, really,” he said, as though that needed to be vocalised. That was a fairly obvious statement.
“That’s fine, not everyone likes this kind of thing,” she said, her thumb stroking Sadie’s arm. Her husband was lodged in that camp – he wasn’t big on parties or gatherings, whereas she thrived on them. “I’m just glad you’re having a good time, hun.”
He smiled and nodded, taking a sip of his drink. “Oh, happy birthday, by the way,” he said. He never forgot Ishaana’s birthday when it was the same day as Asher’s. He had been a complete surprise, hanging on months after she had been told she had miscarried.
“Thanks, hun,” she said with a laugh, “though I don’t need any reminders of my age!” In a stage whisper, she added, “If anyone asks, I’m forty.”
“Got it,” he said, giving her a thumbs up.
“Oh, would you mind filling this up with milk?” She handed him Sadie’s plastic beaker and he stood when he took it. “Thanks, Lucas. You’re a star.”
“No problem.”
“Don’t go,” Sadie said when she saw him leaving, her face falling. She had settled into the family fairly well, though she had developed a few attachment issues. She hated to be parted from her mother, who had made the executive decision to step back from the company for a year to be with her daughter, and she seemed to take it personally whenever anyone left the room.
“I’ll be back, I’m just getting your milk,” he said, shaking the cup at her. He found a strange kinship with the little girl. She smiled, reassured by his words, and snuggled against her mother. Ishaana kissed her warm forehead. Lucas felt a sense of calm wash over him, his heartbeat regulated by the gentle family life after the upbeat pace of the music, and he headed downstairs.
From the kitchen, Lucas had a perfect view of the patio at the back of the house, looking over the garden that extended for what felt like miles, and he caught sight of a couple of shady figures sitting at one of the tables. Taking the milk from the fridge, he filled Sadie’s beaker and sidled over to the window to get a closer look, the pale moonlight highlight two familiar faces.
Tom and Mika sat huddled around the little table, their chairs so close they were almost touching. He had wondered where they had got to, disappearing from the party virtually as soon as it had begun. They seemed to enjoy each other’s company far more than the hustle and bustle of the party, gently talking as the night grew long. Lucas smiled to himself when he saw two plumes of steam rise from the table: they were both drinking tea.
He didn’t disturb them. They looked perfectly happy, content to be alone together, and that thought was cemented when Lucas spied Mika’s hand slowly move across the gap between them. Her fingers slipped over Tom’s, warming his hand, and when he looked down and then up at her, he smiled.
Lucas felt like an intruder to watch, turning away from the window in time to see Asher bounce into the kitchen with as much energy as Tigger, a brilliant beam on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes.
“Hey!” He headed straight for the fridge, taking out a couple of beers. Glancing down at the sippy cup in Lucas’s hand, he laughed. “You’re on the milk, huh? Did Sadie say you could use her cup?”
Lucas looked down and let out a quiet chuckle at the pink and purple beaker in his hand. “Oh, it’s for her,” he said. Asher gave him a knowing look.
“You found the cool gang, eh?”
“The cool gang being your mum and your sister?”
Asher winked and pointed finger guns at Lucas, clicking his tongue. “You know it.” He then leant dramatically close, his eyes huge. “Can I tell you something? You gotta promise you won’t tell anyone.” His breath smelt of alcohol, his whisper comically loud.
“Always,” Lucas said, holding out his little finger. Asher grabbed it in his fist, shaking Lucas’s finger as though he was trying to shake his hand. Drunk Asher always amused him.
“My mum is actually pretty cool,” he said, tripping even though he was standing still. “Don’t tell her I said that. But as far as mums go … she’s really cool.”
“She’s very cool,” Lucas said, nodding. He held back a smile, trying not to laugh at his friend. “I need to go and take this to Sadie.”
“My sister…” Asher trailed off, looking up to the ceiling as though it was covered in stars. “Isn’t that crazy? Like, that is crazy. I have a baby sister. It’s crazy. Cray-ay-zy.”
“Good crazy?”
“Amazing crazy.” He chuckled to himself and said, “Cramazing … cray-mazing. Ha!” He let out a heavy sigh. “As if I have a sister. I love her so much. I was scared that it would be weird but I love her.” A delirious smile found its way onto his lips and he poked Lucas’s shoulder, knocking him a little off balance. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I love you too, man. You’re the fucking best.” The bottles in his hand clinked together, reminding him of what he had come to the kitchen to do. “Shit, I gotta go. See you later, pretty boy!” With that, he slapped Lucas’s backside and jogged out of the kitchen. Lucas stood rooted to the spot, his cheeks hot and his breaths heavy. His skin tingled where Asher had touched him, his brain on fire with what he had said.
“Are you alright there, Lucas?” Bishop came into the kitchen, his voice startling Lucas. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Lucas couldn’t have been happier that Bishop hadn’t turned on the lights, allowing him to hide his burning face. He stepped behind the counter and nodded, surreptitiously adjusting himself when Bishop turned away.
“Have you seen Ishy, by the way?”
“She’s putting Sadie to bed,” he said, clearing his throat when he stammered over the words.
“Ah, fab. Thanks.” He poured a couple of glasses of wine.
“Are you going up?”
“I am indeed. Got a message for my wife?”
He held out the sippy cup, making sure the lid was screwed on tight so the milk wouldn’t spill, but before he could ask Bishop to take it upstairs with him, he remembered that he had promised Sadie that he would be back. “Never mind,” he said. “I need to give this to Sadie.”
“I can take that up; I’m going to head up to tuck her in anyway.”
“I promised her I’d be back,” Lucas said. Bishop smiled, his features softening.
“She’ll appreciate that, I’m sure,” he said. “In that case, can you tell Ish I’ll be up in five?”
Lucas nodded and headed upstairs once he had calmed himself down and sorted himself out, passing the beaker to Ishaana when he stepped into Sadie’s room. She was just about dropping off, her eyelids heavy, but she still smiled to see Lucas. Ishaana gave him a grateful smile and handed the cup to her daughter, who held it in both hands to drink.
“Thanks, hun,” Ishaana said. “Did you see Bishop down there at all?”
“He said he’ll be up in five.”
“Oh, fab.”
“I’m gonna head down,” Lucas said. He wanted to be where Asher was, his skin still on fire. His mind was overflowing with what he had heard and felt. “Time to show my face at the party, go and see what Asher’s up to.”
“Have fun,” Ishaana said. He could have sworn she winked, though the dark was deceptive.
“Goodnight, Sadie,” he said, waving at the little girl. “Sleep tight.”
“Nanight, Luca,” she said. She struggled with the last letter of his name. He didn’t mind.
“See you tomorrow,” he said, nodding his head at Ishaana before he left. His feet carried him all the way down to the barn without putting his brain in gear, as though he was drawn to the party. But he knew that wasn’t true. He was just drawn to Asher.
*
By one o’clock in the morning, only five remained. Mika and Tom had moved inside at one point, chatting in the kitchen with yet another cup of tea each while Mawar had dragged herself off the dance floor once people had left and Asher had somehow made it back up to the house without faceplanting the lawn. Lucas was amazed he could still stand given the amount he had drunk: his hours at the gym seemed to pay off, building up his muscle and tolerance.
“Has everyone else gone?” Ishaana asked. She was still up long after her husband had fallen asleep, making sure everything went alright with the party. She had seen plenty of parents come and go, some taking several teenagers with them at once, and she surveyed the five left in her kitchen. “Just you guys now?”
Lucas nodded. Asher was leaning against him, a heavy dead weight. Ishaana eyed up her son, keeping watch of him while she filled up a pint glass with water.
“You need to drink this, Ash,” she said. “I want to watch you drink the whole thing. Gotta dilute whatever it is you’ve been drinking.”
Mawar held up her hand, her finger and thumb almost touching. “A little bit of everything,” she whispered, steadying herself against the counter. Ishaana raised an eyebrow.
“Great idea, Ash,” she said drily. “Just, don’t throw up, ok? I just changed your sheets today and I’m not sure you’ve ever done that so you don’t know how much of a fucking pain in the arse it is.” She tutted, rolling her eyes as she shook her head. “Keep an eye on him, can you, Lucas?”
Lucas nodded. He always did. Ishaana folded her arms and turned her attention to the girls. Mika had finally pulled herself away from Tom after what had to be a good seven hours or more. Neither had touched a drop of alcohol, whiling the evening into night with tea and the occasional biscuit, and a couple of burgers when Bishop had fired up the barbecue.
“I made up a couple of rooms,” Ishaana said. “You guys can figure it out amongst yourselves, whatever works best. I imagine Lucas and Ash, you’re sharing?”
Lucas nodded. He had never stayed a night at Asher’s house and not shared his bed and he didn’t intend to start now.
“We’ll share,” Mika said, her arm around Mawar. The two had become friends straight off the bat, bonding within the first week of sixth form, and now they were bosom buddies. “Tom can have his own room.”
He gave her a grateful smile. He liked his own space.
“Alrighty then, that’s sorted,” Ishaana said, clapping her hands together. Asher jumped, clasping his chest.
“Oh my God, Mum! Don’t be so loud! You’re gonna wake Sadie!” he rasped, slinging his arm around Lucas to steady himself. Lucas held onto him and tried to calm his racing heart. He could feel Asher’s hot skin beneath his shirt, the tight muscles beneath his skin, and he swallowed hard to squash the stirring within. It was getting harder to hide now that his attraction had entered the physical realm.
“You’ll wake her yourself if you can’t keep yourself upright,” she said. “Right, I’m going to bed. Just try to be quiet when you head upstairs, ok? And you two-” She pointed at Asher and Mawar. “I want you two to drink plenty of water. Lucas – make sure they do.”
“I will,” he said, taking the glass that Ishaana handed him. “Thanks, Ishy.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you had fun. Happy birthday, Ash.” She hugged her son, holding on for a few seconds.
“Happy birthday, Mum,” he whispered loudly. She laughed and shook her head as she left, wishing them a goodnight as she headed upstairs to crawl into bed beside her husband.
“You need to drink this.” Lucas held up the glass to Asher, who took it and swigged from it. Finishing only a third, he set it down on the counter and used Lucas’s shoulder as a rest for his elbow.
“You…” He pointed at Mika. “And you…” His wildly dancing finger hovered in front of Tom’s face. “Why … why don’t you just hook up already?” he asked as though he couldn’t believe they hadn’t. “Why? Just do it. Just … just do it.“
“You’re drunk,” Mika said.
“No, no, no, I’m alive,” he said. “I’m so alive. I can see everything, Mika. You love Tom. Tom.” He pointed at Tom. “You totally love Mika. You’re my friends. I want you to be happy! Be in love! Just, everybody love. Tom and Mika. Mika and Tom.”
Lucas firmed his grip around Asher. “I think it’s time for bed,” he said. “You’re going to say something you’ll regret.”
Asher shook his head forcefully, pouting like a petulant child. “Tom and Mika, sitting on the porch, k-i-s-s-i-n … oh, shit. That doesn’t rhyme anymore.” He laughed out loud, oblivious to the furious blush on Tom’s cheeks, the way his eyes darted between Mika and Asher. Mika just looked surprised. Asher pulled her into a loose, one-armed hug. “Hey, Mika.”
“Hi, Asher,” she said, looking up at him. “Time for beddy-byes, huh?”
“Mika…” He trailed off, forgetting what he was about to say. “Tom and Mika … you can be Tika when you get together. Chicken tikka!” He groaned. “Ugh. I want chicken tikka now.” He reached for Tom, ruffling his hair and then Mika’s. “My little chicken tikkas. I love you guys.”
“We love you too,” Mika said as she poured a glass for Mawar, “but I think I’m going to head to bed and keep Mawar alive. Let Lucas look after you too, ok?”
Asher grinned, turning to look at Lucas. “He always does. My Lucas. My best Lucas.” He gave him a sideways hug, clumsily kissing his forehead. Lucas’s stomach flipped, twisting itself into knots. “Don’t tell anyone,” he whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “but you’re my favourite.”
Mika laughed and mouthed, “Good luck,” to Lucas, looping her arm through Mawar’s to take her up to bed. Tom followed, heading to the spare room Ishaana had set up. Lucas and Asher were left alone in the kitchen: one was ridiculously drunk, the other just drunk on love.
Only when Asher had finished his water at long last did Lucas help him upstairs, suppressing every thought in his head and feeling in his body. He held Asher’s arm around his shoulders, holding onto his waist to help him to his room. He was already heavy with his height and muscle, made even heavier by the lead weight he became when his feet wouldn’t cooperate. Lucas was a slip of a thing, skinny for his age and height and it was an effort to get Asher into his room, taking at least twice as long as it usually did.
“You’re my knight in shining armour,” Asher joked, laughing when he realised his word choice. “Oh, no! I have to be the knight. I am a Knight.”
“You are indeed,” Lucas said, pushing the door shut behind them to block out some of the noise. “You need to change.”
Asher clumsily pulled off his top and fumbled with his belt, dropping it on the floor and stepping out of his jeans so he stood in just his boxers. Instead of pulling on the pyjamas Lucas handed to him, he flopped onto the bed.
Lucas caught his breath, swallowing hard. He tried not to look but his eyes couldn’t help but wander, tracing over Asher’s body. His boxer briefs were incredibly snug, clinging to every curve and bulge. He looked as though he could fall asleep instantly, his eyelids drooping as he lay across the bed. Lucas turned away to change into his more comfortable pyjamas and he had to manhandle Asher in order to get into bed himself, moving his friend so he didn’t take up too much space.
“Tonight was fun,” Asher said, letting out a sigh. “It was so fucking fun. I’m so glad you came.” He tried to pat Lucas’s shoulder. He got his thigh instead, his hand waving all over the place. Breaths heavy, he was on the cusp of passing out.
“It was really good,” Lucas said. “Happy birthday, Asher. Tonight was great.”
“Thanks, Lucas. God, you’re the fucking best. Do you know how fucking awesome you are? You’re the best,” he said, his words loose. “I love you, Lucas,” he mumbled as he drifted off. Lucas lay perfectly still, his hands clasped over his chest.
“You can’t say that,” he murmured, a weight on his chest. “You don’t really mean it when you say it.” He turned his cheek against his pillow. Asher was asleep already, one hand over his stomach. He watched him for a moment. “Not the way I do.”
+ – + – +
i hope you liked this one! another personal favourite, i must admit! drunk asher might just be one of my all-time favourite characters.
oh, and she may have had the briefest introduction but hello to haiya, the latest addition to the langley clan!
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