Mischief Maker

by Andi Lee

  Despite the sniping and the eight-year age gap, they were close. He’d always felt protective of her.

  Bethan’s light-brown hair had a natural white streak that she dyed a myriad of different colours. Today was bright orange, not the best colour she’d ever used, but it probably got fewer stares than her natural hair. He couldn’t believe she was at university.

  “I met this guy.” He signed as well as spoke, used to doing both because his dad was hearing and it had become a habit.

  He’d practised how he was going to tell his family, subtly let it slip in that he was dating, and his sister walked into his plan perfectly. Bethan’s eyes widened, and she poked him with her foot again, making the cat grump. She bounced in her chair and signed for him to give her details. He caught her up on Jamie—the version he wanted them all to know—and tried to ignore the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach.

  Beth stared at him open-mouthed. No way.

  “Yes way.” Beth cocked her head to one side and stared straight at him. She stared at him for so long that it unnerved him. Could she tell it was all a lie?

  She tutted at him and signed rapidly, so fast that only years of growing up with her and speaking BSL with his mom since he was a baby let him keep up.

  “I know what I’m doing. Just because I don’t date doesn’t mean I don’t know how.”

  She watched his hands with a frown and butted in. You used to date. I remember you bringing that guy home your first year of university.

  Liam’s skin went clammy as he thought back to Richard. “My one and only ex? How do you even remember that dick?” The hairs on his arms stood on end, and he shivered. He tried never to think about Richard, let alone talk about him.

  “Dinner’s ready,” their dad called, making him flinch.

  The lamp in the corner turned on and off again, and he heard his dad talking to Alexa. Bethan saw the light flicker and got to her feet, knowing that meant it was time for dinner. The joys of having Alexa. They walked slowly to the door, and then Liam darted forward so he could get to the table first.

  Bethan ran after him and grabbed his T-shirt and pulled his hair so he wouldn’t sit in the seat they’d always fought over as children. He sat down, victorious, albeit with a sore scalp.

  Their mother rolled her eyes and pointed at him. “When will you grow up? You were too old to fight over a chair when you were twelve, and you’re too old now.” Her speech was slow and precise, the cadence flat, but her hands were confident. Dumbledore brushed around her feet, and she leaned down to stroke him.

  Liam grinned and stuck out his tongue at Beth. They all knew it wasn’t about the chair but about making sure Beth had as ordinary a childhood as possible. Part of that was teasing her rotten. He’d let her win when she was five, but by the time she was seven, the glory was going straight to her head….

  She sat opposite him with a glare. Then she smiled wickedly, and Liam had a second to wonder what the hell she was going to do before she tapped their mom on the shoulder and outed him. Fucking outed him. Damn little sisters and second languages. They should never have taught her to speak.

  His mom’s pale blue eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open with a loud yelp. “Dating?” she asked as though she didn’t believe it.

  He kicked Bethan under the table, and she gave him the finger. Why did he always feel like a little kid when they both went home to visit?

  “It’s not serious. Don’t get too excited.” A funny feeling went through him as he said it, as though he were adding another lie to a pile of lies. Bethan raised an eyebrow but wasn’t mean enough to disclose exactly what he’d told her—thank God.

  He glanced quickly at his mom, but she was standing behind Bethan, so she hadn’t seen the hand signing, and their dad was busy plating up.

  He went to say something else, but his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he couldn’t not look. It might be Jamie.

  The smile spread across his face instantly. All for show, of course. Beth shaped her fingers into a heart, which would have been sweet if she hadn’t followed it by pretending to stick her fingers down her throat in a gagging motion.

  “Didn’t I say to you when she was born that I would prefer a puppy? Is it too late to send her back and get a dog?” Despite his grumbling, he couldn’t stop his good mood.

  His dad put a plate of bread and butter in the middle of the table and slid greasy homemade egg and chips in front of him. Nothing tasted better than his dad’s chips.

  “Have a piece before your sister licks the butter off them out of spite,” he said as he ruffled her hair. Liam grabbed a slice of bread and butter and stuck out his tongue at her again.

  “So tell us about this boy and how he’s different to the others?” his dad said.

  Liam groaned. Of course he was listening.

  Chapter Fifteen

  THE PUB was relatively quiet as Jamie waited for Markus. Dane sat opposite him, giving him a look. Not just any look, but The Look. Jamie hated Dane’s Looks. But they were blessedly free of Paul and Tommy, which he was very thankful for. He was sick of always being on high alert because of them. He just wanted to go out and relax like he used to.

  Markus came back from the bar and slid three pints onto the table. “Get that down ya.” He sat next to Dane. Jamie remembered how he felt the last time he sat like this, but now he felt… happy.

  “So where is the luscious Liam?” Dane wiggled his eyebrows and took a sip of his lager.

  “We’re not joined at the hip, you know.” Except they had been for the last few weeks. Rebound sex was the best.

  “Really? That’s not what I see,” Markus said, giving him a kick under the table.

  “You’re all knobs. Besides.” He looked at his watch. “He’ll be here when he drops his last student off.” He felt the heat flush over his cheeks when he admitted it. He needed to get a grip.

  Liam’s hours were all over the place, as he fit them around when his students needed lessons, which meant he spent a lot of weekends and evenings working. It was frustrating, but oddly enough, they managed to make time for each other easily. When the relationship was fake, there was no worry about making it work.

  Markus whistled. “He must have some kind of superpower to make you smile like that.” Jamie hadn’t even realised he was smiling.

  “I’m not smiling,” he said, but he really was. He dipped his finger into the froth on top of his lager and sucked it clean. He was one of those odd people who liked the froth.

  “Don’t you think it’s too soon to be so loved up?” Markus asked. He and Liam must be doing a good job of pulling the wool over their eyes if they truly thought the two of them were loved up.

  Dane snorted. “Don’t be daft. Besides, it’s not like he has to marry the guy, just have fun. Don’t sit around pining after Tommy and Paul.”

  “I’m not pining after them.” He said it too quickly, and they both gave him a long, unnerving look but chose not to press him further.

  “Aren’t you glad Liam knocked you over outside Brum City now, darling?”

  “Then came to your rescue at the rat show,” Markus finished in a sing-song voice. Jamie winced as he thought about it, still puzzled why Liam had stuck around. “And don’t get mad at me for saying this—I wasn’t sure what you saw in Paul. I like him enough. He’s one of the guys, but he was way too….” Markus looked at Dane.

  “He was high-maintenance,” Dane finished. “He was too highly strung for you. Or you were too laid-back for him.”

  “But he’s right for Tommy?” Jamie didn’t understand that. He and Tommy were similar in many ways. They’d both studied animal care at college and university, they had similar habits and tastes…. What did Tommy have that he didn’t?

  “I didn’t say that. What they did was shitty, and there’s still a very large part of me that hopes they crash and burn just because they betrayed you, which is not okay.” Dane said it with a smile, but Jamie knew he meant every word. It meant a lot.
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br />   “It’s good to know there are still vengeful, vindictive friends in the world.” Jamie picked up his glass. “Cheers.” They all clinked glasses.

  “Hey all, what are we celebrating?” Liam asked as he walked over to the table, looking deliciously rumpled. He had his jacket slung over one arm, and his hair fell messily around his face. Jamie smiled at him and shuffled farther along the bench. Liam slid along the bench, placed a firm hand on Jamie’s thigh, and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

  “What on earth are you wearing?” Dane asked, his eyes fixed on Liam’s chest once he sat back.

  “What do you think of it? It’s my new uniform.” He turned to Jamie and snorted a laugh, unable to keep a straight face. The logo was a rainbow with a car driving over it. In bold writing across the top it said L of a Ride, the L red like learner plates. Jamie burst out laughing. It was ridiculous, but if anyone could pull it off, it was Liam.

  “Is that really the name of your business, darling? Tell me, do you get anyone looking for more than driving lessons?”

  “Oh God,” Jamie said. “I can just see it now.” They all laughed, but Liam just shook his head and rolled his eyes at them.

  When the chuckles finally left, Jamie leaned over and whispered against his ear, “You can give me an L of a Ride when we get home.” Liam moved his head sideways and gave a dirty grin.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “LIAM AND Jamie sitting in a tree—” Selena sang before he kicked her chair under the table and made it wobble. “Jesus Christ, watch what you’re doing. I could have fallen and cracked my head open and died.” She shook her finger at him and waggled her eyebrows.

  “Yeah, right. There’s not enough room in this kitchen for you to fall off.” It was more comfortable in the living room, but they always gravitated toward the kitchen, even when they shared a house at university.

  “So I take it your plan to get that coveted plus-one to Frank’s wedding is working?”

  It made him jump, as he’d almost forgotten about that. He didn’t know why the thought didn’t fill him with quite as much excitement anymore.

  “It’s going very well, thank you very much.”

  “Oh, something meaty for the vlog, then?”

  He clenched his jaw and forced himself to smile. That’s what it was about, wasn’t it? No point getting angry at Selena when she pressed him about it. “Very meaty.” He cupped his dick for added effect, and she pretended to vomit.

  “He’s a sweet guy. Too sweet for you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” He frowned, trying not to be hurt.

  “You’re going to break his heart. I know it.”

  “Don’t be daft. I’m his rebound, remember? He’s just using me to get over his ex.” It was the best kind of relationship. “Did I tell you that I pick up my new rats from Jamie’s today?” He said it as a distraction, but he couldn’t hide his excitement.

  “That’s brilliant. Let me know when you and Jamie are about next week, and we can do something. Maybe we can double date.” She snorted and gave a huge belly laugh that resulted in tears.

  “It’s not that funny.”

  “You don’t understand. It really is. Who would have thought you’d be dating, let alone double dating? That’s one thing you would never even put on YouTube.”

  TODAY WAS the day Mabel either got two new sisters or turned into a rat killer. Liam wasn’t entirely sure which way it would go, but he was trusting Jamie not to let Mabel kill anyone.

  Liam spent the day frantically cleaning Mabel’s cage and reading up on introductions, and he was still freaked out. How did people do this without having a Jamie to hold their hand?

  “There are a few different methods. The newest craze is to put them all in a small carrier so they’re forced to be together and there’s not a lot of room for fighting.” That sounded scary.

  “Which one do you do?” He was nervous something could go wrong and was glad he didn’t have to do it alone.

  Jamie grinned at him, and the skin at the corner of his eyes creased. He kissed Gertrude’s belly, and she wriggled her little body against him. She was desperate to get down and play, and she wasn’t nervous at all. They’d handled all the babies from the moment Jamie rescued them, and they’d turned into healthy, confident little rats. Maud sat on Jamie’s shoulder, her eyes boggling, and she ground her teeth in contentment.

  “I’m old-school. When I first started out, the bathtub-and-vanilla-essence method was all the rage, so I just stick to what I know. Jan switched over to it and likes it, though.”

  “I don’t know. It sounds brutal to me.” Mabel squirmed in his hands as though she knew something big was going to happen.

  “Well, I don’t have a bathtub, but the hallway should be okay? It’s neutral territory, there’s no place they can get out, and I’ll put a towel down to catch any ratty raisins. You’ll help, right?”

  “That’s what I’m here for. Rat Whisperer to the rescue.”

  They shut themselves in the hallway and knelt on the floor. Jamie put down the babies first, and after a second, Liam took a deep breath and put Mabel down. She sniffed the air and walked toward the babies. When she was close, she jumped on Maud and made her squeak. Liam squeaked too, his body tensing as Mabel flipped the babies over. He couldn’t watch.

  “Mabel,” he shrieked, heart stopping, just waiting for the bloodshed. This was going to go horribly wrong. He pictured a ratty murder scene and shuddered.

  Jamie leaned over and touched his shoulder. “It’s okay. There’s no fur flying, and she’s not using teeth, just showing them who’s boss.”

  Liam let out a breath. Sure enough, Mabel had stopped trying to beat them up as they all chased each other around.

  “It’s going well. Trust me,” Jamie said with a smile as he tickled Maud when she climbed over his knee.

  “This is going well? I’m about to have a heart attack.” Gertrude jumped on the spot, vibrated her ears, and jumped on Mabel’s back. They were such odd creatures.

  “I had this one rat called Cinnabon. She hated every new addition I tried to add to the mischief. She attacked them all, bit, drew blood, and was downright evil. It didn’t matter how much vanilla essence I used, what neutral space I introduced them in. The only thing that worked was deep cleaning the whole cage and popping them all back in together before she realised. By the time she did, they all smelled the same, and she left them alone.”

  “I’d seriously have a heart attack.”

  “Nah, you wouldn’t.”

  Jamie leaned over, mindful that he didn’t kneel on a rat, and kissed him. Jamie’s lips were warm and tasted like tea. He pulled Jamie back for another one when he tried to move away.

  They took their time making sure the rats were comfortable with each other, and when Jamie thought they were ready for it, he put them in Mabel’s cage. He added the younger two first and let them explore. Then he popped Mabel back in and watched in case she became territorial.

  Maud and Gertrude were into everything, exploring the Ghostbuster hammocks, running through tubes, and climbing the bars until they reached the Sputnik at the top. “This is good, right?” Liam glanced at Jamie.

  “It’s great.” He threaded his arms around Liam’s waist and squeezed.

  “Phew. I’ll make a brew. Want to watch a DVD while we keep an eye on them? We can see what’s on Netflix, or you can find another horror flick.”

  While Jamie knelt to rifle through his DVDs, Liam went to the kitchen. It felt very domestic having Jamie in his flat.

  He’d memorised how Jamie had his tea—builder’s tea with one sugar. He carried them back to the living room and placed them on top of the fireplace, as he didn’t have a coffee table. Jamie was sitting crossed-legged on the floor, piles of DVDs around him. “Critters. I used to love that as a kid.” He waved it a little.

  “Me too. Want to watch it?”

  “Sure.” They curled up on the sofa, and barely fifteen minutes into the film, Liam drift
ed off to the motion of Jamie’s breathing.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I F*CKED Up—I’m Sorry

  L_ofa_Ride

  2 days ago. 127K Views

  Liam realised quite suddenly, after one drink too many, after hanging with Jamie’s friends and the exes who just wouldn’t take the hint, that he didn’t enjoy being around them. Dane was lovely and Markus seemed like a decent bloke, but they reminded him of the deal he and Jamie made. It was completely irrational—they didn’t even know about it. Yet seeing them always brought it to the forefront of his mind.

  Jamie seemed happy on the stage and happy off it. Only occasionally would he see Jamie stare at Paul for a second too long with tension in his eyes. Liam’s heart lurched when he saw those looks. He didn’t enjoy seeing him in pain.

  He couldn’t be angry at Jamie if he was still pining after his ex. Jamie hadn’t promised Liam anything, and that’s how he wanted it. He couldn’t go changing the rules now. And why would he want to?

  The ukulele looked hilarious in Jamie’s arms as he danced his fingers over the strings, plucking expertly. He was loose limbed and feeling the rhythm as he bopped to the music, and Dane’s voice was loud and smooth. Liam remembered back to the first time he’d seen Jamie play. He’d been so sad, the music a foreign body instead of a part of him.

  The Duck was jammed as usual, and although the guys had a table reserved for them, Paul and Tommy were sitting there. He’d rather pull teeth than sit with them, so Liam joined the crowd on the tiny dance floor, moshing along to the songs and belting out 80s ballads with the best of them.

  Jamie looked like Slash, his hair frizzing with sweat, curls bouncing as he rocked out. When their set finished, he propped up his uke, jumped down off the pallets, twisted his way through the crowd, and made a beeline for him. He grinned, face flushed, body still vibrating from the music. He walked into Liam’s arms with no hesitation, tilting his face back for a kiss. Who was Liam to deny him?