Princess

by Ellis, Kay

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Marcie said, turning in her seat to give us a secretive smile over her shoulder.

  I frowned. I mean, Stef was okay, sure, but he’d just got out of the hospital. He should be going home to rest, not gallivanting around Weymouth seafront which was where we seemed to be heading.

  A few minutes later, Killigan turned into a side street and parked outside a block of flats. Tony pulled up behind us and we all piled out of the cars. A stiff breeze bowled litter along the road and I tugged Stef into my arms, wrapping myself around him to protect him from the cold blast.

  “What are we doing here?”

  “Moving in,” Marcie held out a set of door keys. “At least, you two are.”

  “What?” I looked up at the building in shock. We didn’t have to set foot in the place for me to know it was way out of our league. “Marcie, I can’t afford this.”

  “Actually, you can,” Tony said. “What with your new job and the pay rise that comes with it.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t start for months yet.”

  “That’s why we’ve paid the first six months on the lease,” Killigan chipped in. “Call it an early wedding present.”

  “We can’t –”

  Any objection I was about to make was abruptly cut off by Stef’s excited squeal. He pulled out of my arms and threw himself into those of a surprised Killigan.

  “Oh, my God! Thank you!”

  “Stef…”

  “Can we go inside? Can we see it?”

  Everyone looked at me expectantly. I shrugged my shoulders and gave a wry smile. What Stef wanted, Stef got. Wasn’t that the way it had always been? I knew when I was beaten. If Stef had made up his mind, then I basically had no further say in the matter.

  “One other thing before we go in,” Tony said. “These flats have allocated parking. That’s your space there.”

  I turned to see where he was pointing and felt my jaw drop in surprise.

  “Is that… fuck, Tony… is that my car?”

  “Yup. I got it out for you. I should have done it sooner. Would have cost me a lot less for a start.”

  “No. No, I mean… shit… that’s… this is too much. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just promise you won’t park where you shouldn’t and get any more fines,” Tony said seriously.

  I wanted to check my car over there and then, make sure it hadn’t been damaged in the pound, but Stef grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the entrance of the flats.

  The apartment was nice. Maybe not what I would have chosen, but Stef loved it so that was good enough for me. He and Rufus were like little kids, running from room to room exploring with an endless stream of inane chatter. We were on the top floor, and we leaned out of the living room window and craned our necks we could even see a little bit of beach.

  “I’m starving,” Stef said, once he and Rufus calmed down a little.

  “Well, I haven’t filled the fridge yet,” Marcie answered. “I thought it would be best to wait until we were sure you’re staying. I suppose we could get take-out.”

  “Chinese,” Rufus suggested, looking hopeful.

  “Indian,” Amanda put in. “I could just go for a Jalfrezi, and we all know how Killigan loves a Vindaloo.”

  “Yes, and we all know what effect Vindaloo has on him as well,” Rufus pointed out, holding his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

  Everyone laughed, as Killigan’s face turned beetroot. All except for Stef who looked absolutely horrified.

  “Ewww! No, nobody’s stinking out my lovely new apartment before we’ve even moved in properly.” He turned to me with a smile. “Bennett’s?”

  “Suits me.”

  “I’ll go,” Killigan offered. “Alex can come with me.”

  “Oh, but he hasn’t looked round the whole flat yet,” Stef protested.

  “Later, I promise. We won’t be gone long anyway.”

  To be honest, I was glad of the excuse to get out of there for a bit. Not that there was anything wrong with the place, or that I wasn’t grateful, but it wasn’t how I’d imagined Stef’s homecoming would go. the flat felt kind of claustrophobic with everyone there.

  “Thank you,” Killigan said, as we walked. “I know how hard this is for you to accept.”

  “Hard?” He didn’t know the half of it. “Try fucking impossible. But I know you’re doing all this for Stef, not me, so…”

  Killigan stopped walking. “We did it for both of you, Alex. You’re the only one doing it solely for Stefan.”

  “What else am I going to do? I love him.”

  We carried on, turning our collars up against the chill wind.

  “I believe you,” Killigan said. “You love him. Which is why, now that Stefan is home and safe, you just want the rest of us to bugger off and leave the two of you alone. Am I right?”

  “Kind of,” I admitted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s been good having you all here, even Doofus, and I appreciated everything you’ve done for us, I really do. But we can’t even begin to get back to normal until it’s just us again.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll sort it,” Killigan said. “Food first, though, and you have to promise, Alex, if you need anything, anything at all, you’ll call me.”

  I promised, although even I didn’t know whether I meant it or not.

  24

  True to his word, Killigan cleared everyone out shortly after we’d all finished eating. The others, understandably, were a bit surprised at the sudden departure, but Killigan told them he’d been called back to work. Not only that, but he’d heard from the restaurant and they were not prepared to keep Rufus’ job open any longer. Finally, after lots of hugging, tears and kisses goodbye, Stef and I were alone in our new home.

  I closed the front door and leaned against it, quietly surveying my new surroundings.

  “You hate it, don’t you?” Stef asked, watching me anxiously.

  Funny thing was, I knew however much he loved the new flat, if I didn’t want to stay then we wouldn’t. Stef would sacrifice his happiness and leave with me, in exactly the same way I’d sacrifice mine to stay here with him if that was what he wanted. Only, he was the one who’d been through a horrific ordeal, which meant he won hands down.

  “I haven’t really seen it yet.” I shrugged. “Why don’t you give me the grand tour?”

  “Oh, my God. Wait until you see it.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me into the hallway. “The bathroom is huge and there’s a proper shower and everything. We’ve got a real kitchen that we can cook in, and the bedroom has got actual walls instead of plasterboard.”

  His excitement was contagious, and I found myself seeing the flat through his eyes. By the time he’d shown me every room, as well as every cupboard and drawer, I began to think we could actually make a home for ourselves here. Plus, it came fully furnished, so we wouldn’t need to buy anything.

  “I’ll go over to Tony’s tomorrow and get our stuff.”

  “So, we can stay?” Stef’s face lit up like a Christmas tree and he bounced up and down on his toes.

  “Yeah, we can stay, for six months, at least. After that, we’ll just have to hope I can afford the rent.”

  “I can get a job,” Stef offered. “Someone must be hiring in the town centre.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “You need to go back to college and the salon and finish your course.”

  “But –”

  “You’re doing it, Stef. That’s the end of. Let me worry about the money for this place.”

  “Well, if you’re sure…”

  I could tell from his expression it was what he really wanted, so, yeah, I was sure. We just had to hope the college and the salon were prepared to take him back. Whatever happened though, I’d find a way to keep us here. Clearly, Stef was already in love with the place.

  “Come to bed,” Stef said suddenly.

  He ran across the room and sprawled across the bed with h
is legs spread suggestively. He grinned up at me as he stroked his hands up and down his slender torso.

  “What? No, Stef. You only just got out of the hospital.”

  “I’m fine, Alex.” Stef pouted prettily. I always told him pouting didn’t work on me, but that was a total lie. There was something about the way he stuck out that quivering lower lip that went straight to my dick. “We’ve got to christen the place, haven’t we?”

  “Yeah, but not right now.” I crawled onto the bed beside him and lay down, drawing him into my arms. He came willingly, resting his head on my chest, one arm snaking around my waist. “I’m not fucking you, Stef.”

  “Good, I don’t want you to. I want you to make love to me.”

  “And I will. In every room and on every surface if that’s what you want.” He giggled quietly and hid his face in my shirt, which I took as confirmation that he did indeed like the idea of christening more than the bedroom. “Just not tonight, okay? You need to rest.”

  “Okaaay,” he said, in a long drawn out sigh. I couldn’t see his face, but I could practically feel him rolling his eyes at me. “Will you stay though?”

  “Of course. You don’t get rid of me that easily.” We lay on the bed, bodies entwined. It wasn’t long before Stef relaxed and his breathing evened out. “I’ve been thinking…”

  “Mmmm?”

  “I think we should get married.”

  “You already asked me, Boo, remember?” Stef said sleepily.

  “Yeah, I know that. What I mean is we should get married as soon as possible. I don’t want to wait until we can afford it.”

  Stef sat up, suddenly wide awake.

  “You want to get married? Really?”

  “Well… yeah.” I frowned at him. “Isn’t that point of getting engaged in the first place?”

  “Yes, but… I thought you did that just to shut me up.”

  “What do you mean?” I sat up too, taking his small hands in my big ones. I was genuinely confused, not knowing what he was talking about. I’d proposed because I wanted to marry him. There was no underlying motive, whatever he thought.

  “I kept going on about it,” he said quietly. “It was driving you crazy, you said so.”

  “Okay, yeah, I did, but I didn’t mean it. Come on, Stef, you know what I’m like. What did you think I was going to say? I’m no good at all that soppy hearts and flowers stuff. That’s why I made a stupid joke out of proposing. I thought you’d know what I really meant, even if I didn’t say it. You know how I feel about you, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do!” He shifted suddenly, straddling my lap and wrapping his arms around my neck. “I feel the same way about you.”

  “So then…?”

  “So, you don’t have to marry me because you think it’s what I want.”

  “Can I marry you because it’s what I want?”

  “Really? You mean it?”

  “Yeah, I do. I’m kind of a selfish bastard when it comes to getting the things I want.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “Oh, so I’m a thing now?”

  I rolled onto my back, pulling him down with me. He giggled as he landed on top of my chest, his hands going either side of my head to brace himself.

  “You’re my thing,” I said, sliding my hands down his body and cupping his arse. I rolled my hips and his eyes widened as our dicks rubbed together, a pleasurable sensation even through our clothes. “You’re the only thing in my life that’s worth a damn.”

  In answer, he slammed his mouth to mine, kissing me like he wanted to crawl up inside me and stay for good. When he came up for air, I laughed.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes, Boo, it’s a yes. I don’t need a big white wedding. I just need you.”

  “Well then, I guess we have something to celebrate. You still reckon you’re okay to… you know?” I waggled my eyebrows at him and he grinned.

  “Baby, I’m always ready when it comes to you. Welcome me home, Alex. Make me feel safe.”

  So, I did. Twice. And then we slept.

  Everything else could wait. Until tomorrow. Until the next day.

  I had my princess back and that was all that mattered in the world.