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“Oh, I wasn’t expecting to see you yet.” Alex said as they reached Alexa’s bedroom, Miles sat with his back to the wall in a neon green shirt, applying rings of black eyeliner to his lids. Their eyes met and Miles offered him a smile as Alex sat down beside him, scratching at his neck nervously as Alexa flicked her party playlist back on and shimmied around the box bedroom in her electric pink dress, hair streaked with waves of the same colour. Alex turned his head to look at the man beside him who was far more interested in smudging eyeliner over his lashline.
Six weeks ago him and Miles had been sat in the same room blind drunk chatting to their friends whilst waiting for midnight to ring in and bring 2018 with it. He’d found his head resting on Miles’ shoulder as he chipped into conversation with Matt and Suki, Miles far more knowledge in the gossip department. Alex instead flicked through Instagram instead, sipping at his cup of vodka and lemonade occasionally until the room got too crowded and he fled downstairs, sitting on the sofa in the living room and happily playing with one of Alexa’s dogs and got chatting to one of the girls he was at school with, a tall, chubby lass who was very drunk and very excited about some sort of gig she was going to in the New Year.
They yacked away until half eleven when the girl, Ashley, went off to have a drink and join in with a game of beer pong going on in the conservatory. Against her and a friend were Miles and Matt, the two laughing and sending the ping pong balls across the table with neither grace nor accuracy. Alex got up to investigate, sitting at the chair at the centre of the table, watching the ball with a grin, cheering when Ashley managed to get the ball into one of Miles’ cups and he effortlessly chugged the half a pint of Carlsberg inside. Alex’s mind was buzzing, the alcohol making him feel electric as he applauded the two teams at the end of the game and they returned to the living room, seeing the countdown to midnight was on. Alex stood watching the television as the numbers on the side of Big Ben went from thirty to ten and the group of them were shouting along to the count, a chorus of ‘happy New Year’ chiming through the group as the bells began to ring and the cracking of fireworks silenced the soft hum of Auld Lang Syne. Alex looked over his shoulder, red cup still in his hand and eyes moving to meet with Miles’.
Before Alex knew what was happening, Miles had an arm around him and they were kissing, Alex’s eyes shut and mouth moving with the rhythm of Miles’. Alex pulled away to gulp a mouthful of air and looked back to Miles who was grinning at him.
“‘Appy New Year, babe.” He whispered before Alex pressed their lips together once more and squeezed his eyes shut, an arm around Miles’ slim waist. He pulled away again and cleared his throat before looking over to the stereo Nick was fiddling with. He approached, looking at the computer screen.
“I can’t find Auld Lang Syne.” Alex looked at the screen and cackled a laugh.
“That’s because it’s not spelt Old Lang Sign you prat.” Nick laughed warmly as Alex tapped the song in and it was soon streaming through the speakers, the group creating a circle in the middle of the living room and skipping around together. Alex didn’t notice Miles had disappeared until he watched him slip out the front door and into the cool midnight air.
“Alexa invited me over to get ready.” Miles said simply as he picked a Percy Pig from the bag on the floor. “Hope it’s not too horrid a surprise.” His lips curled into a sly smile, Alex replying with a simple shake of the head as he looked to where the girl was sat applying glitter to her cheekbones.
Whilst things had been fairly normal between the two of them when they went back to college the following week, Alex couldn’t help but feel a little awkward about the who thing. He wondered if Miles felt the same, so often found himself sitting and studying Miles as the scouser chatted to their mates, sprawled across the study room table like Kate Winslet in Titanic. Another party came, only with Alex feeling pretty low and already wondering what an acceptable time to go home would be. His migraine was growing by the second and the glasses of wine he kept drinking weren’t helping. Eventually, he retired to the small living room in Matt’s house and sat beside one of the many gorgeous girls he vaguely knew and her not-quite-a-boyfriend, chatting to them tiredly and feeling his blood run cold when Miles stumbled in and sat in the armchair across from them. He sipped from his can of Stella and joked with the girl, Alice, that sat beside Alex.
“You ought to get yourself a boyfriend, Miles. You can’t mean to tell me you’ve not been on the prowell.” Alice huffed, her head on her not-boyfriend’s shoulder. Alex looked up at that moment and locked eyes with the boy sat on the other side of the room.
“Yeah well nobody’s taken my fancy in quite a while.” He said and Alex swallowed roughly. That was good; that meant Miles wasn’t interested in him and things could return to normal between them. “Not since New Years anyway.” Alex’s entire body froze at the words and he dreaded seeing the look on the scouser’s face. “You know, Al, you’re the best kiss I’ve ever had.” Alex blinked rapidly, trying to get the confession out of his mind and ignore Miles as best he could. Alice awwed from beside him and gave his thigh a pat.
“You two should totally hook up sometime, you’d make such a fit couple.” Attention was suddenly turned from that to a somewhat paralytic looking Nick who stumbled into the room and fell onto the wooden floor. Immediately, Alex shot up to help him, dragging him up onto where he had been sat on the settee.
“I’ll get him a glass of water.” Alex grumbled as he stood and walked through to the kitchen, slightly giddy and swallowing roughly as he stood at the sink, staring at the tap with those words whirling through his mind. He thought Miles would have had a lot of kisses off of a lot of boys, surely he, a somewhat devout virgin who had never kissed anyone before, was never going to be top of that list. He could still feel Miles’ lips against his, the feeling of his body in Alex’s arms, the taste of beer and cigarettes on his lips. He was dragged out of his thoughts by the feeling of cold water running down his arm, swearing when he realised the glass of water he’d been running for Nick was more than overflowing.
He turned the tap off and then walked back through to the living room, crouching down beside the sofa and making his friend take soft stips from the glass, Jamie soon joining them and trying to force feed his best mate a slice of cold Dominos. Alex stood, dusting off his skinny jeans and then slipping out of the room and up the two sets of stairs that would take him to Matt’s room where his jacket and trainers were waiting for him. He pushed the door open, ignoring the couple who laid snogging on the bed, and fished out his Converse and leather jacket, slipping out the room and onto the landing where he put them on as quick as he could and then trudged back downstairs. He found Matt on the way, thanking him for the invite and making an excuse for why he had to flee so soon. He didn’t bother looking back into the living room and instead slipped out the front door, lit a cigarette, and walked the two miles home in silence, those words rolling around his head endlessly.
Alex tried to squeeze the memory away as they left the off licence beside Alexa’s home, a few of her friends having joined them for the walk to Arielle’s neon party, the six of them looking like human glow sticks as they walked through the suburbs of Sheffield, getting lost once or twice before they wound up at Alexa’s best friend’s house. Alex hadn’t looked back over his shoulder to see if Miles and the others were still with him, and instead went inside, pecking Arielle on the cheek to be polite and kicking off his shoes and dumping them with the others, walking out to the conservatory where the drinks table was. He opened a can of Fosters and all but downed it, smiling and greeting some of the familiar faces with a wave or, if they were feeling brave, a hug.
He was soon in the living room talking to one of the girls who had stayed on for year fourteen and her boyfriend, Ricky. He was incredibly tall with a mop of straight ginger hair and a lazy smile as he spoke to Alex, his girlfriend perched on his lap. When Alex excused himself to go to the bathroom, he was surprised to find Ricky follow and stand outside the locked bathroom with him.
“Hannah said you’re gay.” Was the first thing Ricky said as they stood side by side awkwardly. “Which is, like, fine because I think I am, a bit. But, I’ve never been with a guy so.” Alex knew what was coming and rubbed his face with his hands, not caring if he smudged the yellow facepaint Alexa had striped on his face to match his vest. “You’re really fit, you know. Like, proper hot.”
“I’ve been told.” Alex said, eyes almost burning a hole in the door from how intensely he was staring at it, willing it to open. “And I don’t kiss or fuck or do anything with boys who ain’t sure of their sexuality.” He added, giving Ricky a look to find his bottom lip pouting slightly, blue eyes glittering under the lights. “I’m sure there’ll be other lads here that will. Try the short bloke in the blue shorts. He does most things with most people, nice lad.” He added with a dismissive wave of his hand.
“But it’s you I find hot, not him.” Ricky pointed out and Alex looked at him, running his tongue over his bottom lip.
“Yeah? And I find Colin Firth fit but that don’t mean he’s going to suck me cock if I ask.” Alex exclaimed and Ricky pursed his lips, Alex clearly having proved his point. “Look, I just don’t like getting toyed with, treated like I’m a tester for some weird, fancy lipstick or summin.” Ricky sniggered at the simile and Alex just rolled his eyes. “Sorry mate but, no from me.” The bathroom door finally opened and a girl tumbled out very apologetically, muttering something about her jumpsuit, and Alex slipped inside, locking the door and unbuttoning his jeans, eyes on the painting of some beach huts above the toilet as he pissed, using his free hand to prop him up, body feeling like it was swaying and mind fuzzy. He’d had a couple of cans of beer and three rounds of shots but doubted he was that drunk. Although there was a soft, whispering voice at the back of his mind.
You’re the best kiss I’ve ever had.
He tried to shake the thought away as he tucked himself back in and did up his jeans. The feeling of lips against his overwhelmed his body and he stood staring at himself in the mirror whilst washing his hands, rubbing his knuckled until they were bright red. He needed a cigarette.
Alex flung the bathroom door open, apologising to Alexa and Matt who were stood behind it, and pushed through the people in the kitchen and conservatory until he was in the garden, lighting his cigarette as he sat at the garden table, head resting on the glass tabletop as he inhaled and exhaled the smoke at a steady rate, eyes shut and mind trying to wander anywhere but the soft Scouse accent in the back of his mind.
Scraping of the chairs against the stones below him caught Alex’s attention and he looked up, Matt sat opposite him and Alexa to his right. Nick stood rolling a joint next to him and Alex just tapped the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray.
“Is everything alright, Al?” Matt asked and Alex replied with a hurried nod, eyes on Nick as he slipped the joint between his lips and lit it, having a puff and then handing it to Alexa who was patiently waiting with an outstretched arm. “We’ve been worried about you… Ever since my party when you walked out and were off for the week.” Alex had come down with the mother of all colds and was reluctant to leave his bed at any point, apart from to walk to the chippy or the off licence to replenish his cigarette stock, although he did find himself staring at the ceiling in deep thought once or twice. “And then at Jordan’s party too, you hardly said a word all evening.” He continued to press and Alex finished his cigarette as Alexa passed the blunt to Matt.
“Is nothing, I promise ya.” He said as he sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his already messy quiff. “I’m feeling good tonight, loose, like I could party till dawn.” Nobody was convinced by his words but the hum of Oasis coming from inside made him stand and head inside to prove his point. Live Forever blared through the entire house, making his heart thump with energy as he downed a pint of bitter and grabbed another from the table before heading into the lounge to join the group who were already dancing, singing along with them and swaying to the sound of the music with an arm around Alice’s shoulders.
He could spy Miles sat under the window at the far end of the lounge, red cup to his lips and eyes on him rather than whoever it was he’d been speaking to. Alex went back to dancing to the song, howling with excitement when Reptilia began to play and he danced and sang along like he was the only one in the room. He wanted to prove a point, prove he wasn’t hung up on Miles and his confession. Chances were it was a lie to get him to go to bed with him and he’d had thousands of kisses better than Alex, but he tried to not think about it and instead sang along to Wannabe when it came on, not ashamed that he knew every word, hips rolling in time with the song and a joyous smile on his face. He dread to think what would end up on Snapchat in the morning but he was uncaring.
Bohemian Rhapsody was the one song Alex knew would get the party going, and huddles were soon formed in the lounge with people singing along. Miles had joined his little group, but as had Hannah and Ricky, Ricky’s arm around his waist as he sang along and bounced along with everybody else. Alex’s eyes linked with Miles’ briefly, just in time to see his tongue roll over his bottom lip, sending shivers over Alex’s body. He was uncaring and sang along till the end of the song, singing the final few bars as best he could and earning a few soft
wow, who was that? Was that Alex? God he’s got a good voice.
Alex turned when he felt a chest to his back and found Ricky looking down at him.
He couldn’t stop himself when he ran a hand across his firm chest, their eyes meeting and Ricky already making suggestive tilts of the head, silently asking Alex to go upstairs with him.
“Woah, I think you need some fresh air.” An arm wrapped around Alex’s waist as Hannah turned to look at the two of them with a puzzled expression and Alex was being dragged away and towards the patio doors. It was only then he realised it was Miles leading him, the two soon in the abandoned garden with the cold air whistling around them. Miles turned to look at him under the yellow lights of the house and Alex went for a kiss, only to have Miles tut a soft no and tug him towards the back of the summerhouse at the end of the garden. Alex didn’t know what was going on until it was too late, Miles’ arm’s around him as they stood in the concealed shadow of the summer house, far from prying eyes and ears as Miles met him for a bruising kiss, the two snogging endlessly.
It was all so fast, but Alex couldn’t stop his fingers carding through Miles’ silky hair as the scouser gripped hold of Alex’s arse through his skinny jeans. Alex broke away, their foreheads pressed and he giggled, Miles looking back at him with a grin.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Alex whispered and Miles kissed him again, holding him tight as Alex’s knees buckled and they were kneeling on the damp grass, the Yorkshire lad soon pushing his partner to the floor and kneeling over him, crotch to crotch, and kissing him again as hands travelled under Miles’ shirt and he then attempted to undo the buttons and shove it off.
“Someone’s eager.” Miles grinned, sitting up so he could pull his shirt off, barely giving himself enough time to lay down before Alex’s mouth was on the side of his neck, messily kissing it and dragging his teeth over the sweet skin, all the way to his nipples which he licked and sucked, using a hand to toy with Miles’ other nipple, tugging and squeezing it to evoke throaty moans and grunts, a hand running through Alex’s hair and tugging at his chestnut waves whenever Miles’ body shuddered. Alex was soon nuzzling against Miles’ stomach, fingers fiddling with the zip and button on his skinny jeans and he pulled them down, Miles kicking them off and Alex pulled off his vest and threw it to the floor beside them.
He didn’t know what was possessing him, making him give in to Miles’ allure and charm, but he really didn’t care as he shuffled up to kiss him again and dipped his hand into Miles’ briefs, tugging at his cock and feeling Miles groan against his lips, digging nails into Alex’s back at the sensation.
“Like that?” Alex whispered into Miles’ ear as he nipped the skin just below it. “You finally getting what you wanted, huh?” Miles’ hands slipped under the hem of Alex’s jeans and he gave his arse a rough squeeze in reply as Alex moaned and kissed him again, hand still working Miles’ cock before he lent down to slowly lick the underside of the Scouser’s prick, Miles’ hands running through his hair again and pulling at the long strands as he swirled his tongue around the tip and worked to take as much as Miles into his mouth as possible. Alex could feel his cock suffocating in his jeans so unbuttoned and unzipped them whilst continuing to suck of Miles, slipping his hand into his boxers and giving his prick a few strokes as a form of relief.
“You look so good like this, you know? Better than I imagined.” Miles said between soft curses and moans, head rolling back in the grass as he shut his eyes and gently thrusted up into Alex’s mouth. He peeked an eye open to make sure the other boy was coping okay with the thrusts and could barely contain himself at the sight of Alex’s large, glossy eyes staring back at him. “Come here.” Miles groaned as he pulled Alex off and the other crawled closer, the two laying on their sides and kissing slowly, Alex moaning softly at the sensation as he rutted against Miles’ thigh, desperate to have something come into contact with his aching erection.
Alex didn’t have to say anything to the other, and soon he was pushed onto his back, Miles’ lips working down Alex’s neck and along his collar, leaving a bruise on the nape of his neck that Miles knew would take a while to heal, but the sounds Alex was making as he dragged his teeth over the sickly sweet skin were mind blowing and only encouraged him. He ran his tongue over one of Alex’s nipples and gently bit down, making him whine loudly and fist at Miles’ hair, roughly tugging it and shooting a bolt of pleasure through the scouser’s body.
Miles then sat up and worked Alex’s skinny jeans and briefs off until they were both naked, sweating bodies pressed as they kissed once again, Miles reaching to stroke Alex’s cock slowly, making the other moan against his lips and bite down on Miles’ bottom lip until he drew blood. Miles swore and slowly, reluctantly, pulled away and wiped away the droplets of blood on his lip.
“Ah, shit, Miles I’m so sorry.” Alex whispered and Miles offered him a wave of his hand to brush him off before crawling back and kissing the hairless skin around Alex’s hips, leaving another love bit on his pelvis before he licked the bottom of Alex’s cock in the same way the other boy had done to him and then slowly wrapped his mouth around his prick, Alex gripping Miles’ hair even tighter and eyes locked on the way Miles’ head was bobbing so elegantly, deepthroating him without a problem. The sight was almost too much to bare and the sensation of Miles running his finger over Alex’s hole made him gasp and feel the nerves in his stomach tighten. “Miles, I, fuck.” He exclaimed before biting the back of his hand and rolling his eyes as he came, Miles continuing to bob his head softly as he swallowed the hot load and then pulled off with a satisfactory pop.
“Good boy.” Miles whispered as he laid on his side beside Alex and kissed him slowly, moaning at the feeling of Alex reaching down to stroke him until Miles too came, streaking across both of their stomachs and then pulled away to lull his head back, Alex taking the opportunity to drag his teeth along Miles’ throat and leave a satisfactory bruise. “Revenge, is it?” He asked with a chuckle and wrapped an arm around Alex as they panted through their post-orgasm states.
“That was unexpected but rather nice.” Alex whispered after a little while, making Miles laugh loudly and run his hand over Alex’s bare back slowly.
“Well I’m glad you found it nice.” Miles replied as Alex gave him another slow kiss. “Because I found it nice too, rather lovely in fact, laa.” He said before shivering, the February air causing the skin on his arms to goosebump. He sat up, grabbing his clothes and tugging them on, already planning on going to the bathroom to wipe himself clean. He passed Alex his clothes and sat watching him redress under the moonlight.
“I guess we should go back inside… people will be wondering where we’ve got to.” Alex said quietly, the reluctance clear in his tone as he ruffled his hair, pulling out the twigs and moss that had got caught up whilst his head had been lulling about.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Miles mumbled as the two stood and gave each other a parting kiss, Miles heading inside first and Alex lighting a cigarette as he watched him head back inside to rejoin the party. Alex sat back down in the damp grass where he had been sprawled minutes before and couldn’t help but swear to himself. How dare he let his guard down and do something so utterly stupid. He groaned to himself, rubbing a hand over his face as he had another drag and then laid on his back, just staring at the stars for a while, tracking constellation with his finger tip until he flicked his cigarette butt into the grass and stood, brushing himself down and going back inside to join the party, humming along to the Fall Out Boy track playing before wandering through to the bathroom, breathing a sigh of relief when he slipped into the empty room and locked the door, wiping his stomach clean and washing his hands, looking at himself in the mirror and fiddling with his messy hair until it looked fairly normal.
He returned to the party, successfully avoiding Miles all night until it was half eleven and he was ready to head home. He searched for Arielle and gave her a hug and kiss goodbye before going to the hallway to put his shoes back on, looking up to find Miles lingering in the doorway.
“You heading off already?” He asked, almost disappointed and Alex nodded, watching as the other stepped towards him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Be safe.”
“Don’t tell anyone about what happened, yeah?” He asked softly and Miles nodded as Alex kissed him again and then turned to the front door. He opened it with a quick look over his shoulder only to find Miles had disappeared. Alex couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Four months later they were sat in one of Sheffield’s many Wetherspoons, in the middle of watching Alexa open her birthday present. Alex couldn’t help but keep grinning at the envelope on the table in front of him containing his ticket to see Liam Gallagher the following summer, his card a drawing of him and Julian Casablancas he knew Jamie had spent almost too much time on. Miles sat beside him at the head of the table, sipping from his pitcher of tutti fruity and smiling at Alexa as she squealed over her new pair of Reebok trainers.
Alex excused him, smiling to himself as he slipped into the bathrooms and went for a piss, feeling a little dizzy from the amount of shots they’d done together and then the two pints he’d been bought as his belated birthday drinks. Whilst his birthday had been almost five weeks ago, exams had got in their way and meant they couldn’t meet up until the day of their final exam. Alex was just glad to finally be free from college for the rest of his life, already planning his future at Manchester University. He returned to the table after washing his hands and found the group giggling and giving him cautionary glances, Miles shuffling about and looking over his shoulder to Alex, a grin playing on his lips.
“Wha’s goin’ on?” Alex asked as he sat down and looked at his birthday card.
“It weren’t me idea, I was coerced.” Miles grumbled and Alexa continued to giggle her head off, the other three boys watching on with cunning grins. Alex shot Miles a look and then looked inside the card. Below the message Miles had already written was some new, scrawled handwriting.
PS. We’ll always have February 28th xx.
In that moment, Alex felt his jaw drop and he looked to Miles and then the others around the table, unsure how to react. Alex was certain they had kept it as a secret for the entire four months. He didn’t know what to say, and couldn’t stop himself from laughing as his eyes scanned the words over and over again. He was too drunk to be coping with this, and placed the card back down on the table, looking around at his friends who were sniggering with him. Alex looked to Miles and swallowed slowly, then furrowing his brows.
“How d’ they know? I thought we was going t’-“
“Freddie saw us, and told everyone. They just asked me about it, I guess no one wanted to bother you.” Miles confesses and Alex looked to his friends.
“We’ve known since we were at the party. You looked a wreck when you came in from the garden and Miles didn’t look much better. It wasn’t difficult to guess, you’d been giving each other the eye ever since New Years.” Alexa confessed and Alex groaned, hiding his face in his hands and shaking his head.
“I need another drink.” He said, standing and heading towards the bar, leaning against it and frowning at Miles when he approached.
“You’re not angry, are you?” He inquired and Alex shook his head, earning a relieved sigh. “Look, I wouldn’t have told anyone about it if they hadn’t have all asked me. People saw us go out together, saw you go to kiss me on the patio. We were hardly subtle.” Miles pointed out and Alex hummed, ordering himself a pint of Strongbow as Miles reached to take Alex’s hand. “I haven’t stopped thinking about it, you know. What we did.”
“I haven’t either.” Alex confessed and he flushed at the sight of the smile on Miles’ face. “I just… I thought we’d managed to keep it as a secret. I had no idea. Does everyone know? Like, everyone?” Miles nodded, a little sadly.
“Freddie and his big mouth I guess.”
“Freddie fucking Fox.” Alex muttered as he thanked the barman for his drink and looked back to Miles. “It’s alright, at least I know people know and I don’t have to be so… reserved around you.” He said, Miles ordering himself a JD and Coke.
“Yeah I noticed you’ve been a bit off with me… But, Al, I like you a lot and what we did just reaffirmed them feelings.” Alex tilted his head, Miles more focused on the bar mat he was spinning between his fingers than anything else. Miles’ eyes flicked up to meet with his.
“Why don’t we go see a film or something next weekend, before you go on your holiday.” Alex suggested as they picked up their drinks and walked back to their table.
“That would be really nice, yeah I’d really like that.” Miles said as they placed their drinks down and sat once more, Alex placing a hand on the scouser’s thigh.
“So you’ve made up then?” Nick asked and Alex nodded, turning to look at Miles and smiling at him, raising his eyebrows when Miles lent forward and kissed him slowly.
“Yeah, we definitely ‘ave.” Miles said with a grin and Alex just rolled his eyes, resting his head against Miles’ bicep as he sipped his cider.
-
“Grandad, how did you and Grandpa meet?” Alex looked down to Rosie who was sat on his lap, the two of them having been in the middle of watching a film about a princess who journeyed across Europe to try and find a missing turtle. It was a simple film that his granddaughter liked a great deal. “Daddy said you’ve been married for fifty years! That’s so long!”
“We met at school, when we were fourteen, and we starting dating when I was eighteen. Your Grandpa proposed when we went on holiday to Paris together.” Alex said, stroking Rosie’s dark hair and smiling at her warmly. “You’ve still got lots of time before you find the right person to fall in love with.” He said and Rosie hummed in discontent, resting her head across Alex’s chest and yawning.
“I like Emmy, she’s got pretty eyes and lets me borrow her colouring pencils.” She said with a happy sigh and Alex couldn’t help but smile to himself. “Maybe I’ll fall in love with her.”
“Fall in love with who?” Miles pattered in with their tray of tea and biscuits, placing it on the coffee table and then sitting beside his husband and granddaughter with a slight huff, rubbing the bottom of his spine.
“Rosie’s got the eye for a girl she’s at school with.” Alex said, earning an “oooh” from Miles who lent over to tickle Rosie wildly, making her laugh loudly and flail her arms about.
“Pa stop!” She exclaimed and Alex just beamed at the sight. “Grandad help!” She giggled, curly brown hair swishing about as Alex joined in and tickled Rosie until she was crying with laughter. Alex just grinned and rested his head on Miles’ shoulder as they eventually pulled away, hugging Rosie and smiling into her hair as he shut his eyes. He still thought about that night in Arielle’s back garden sometimes, wondering just where he would be had Miles not taken him outside, had they not gone out to see Mamma Mia together. His thoughts didn’t last long as he was soon being encouraged to sit on the floor with his granddaughter and play with her Lego, his husband watching on with a sleepy smile as he drank his tea.
Alex rarely thought about his life without Miles but when he did, he knew his reality was better than any other life he could have lived.