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“Go on.”
“If I started a sports podcast, would you come on it?”
Kathy, Neil, and Briony all start talking at once. Apparently, this is the first any of them have heard about him wanting to do a podcast.
“Innes, where’s this come from?” Kathy asks when the noise dies down.
“Well, I want to be a sports journalist,” Innes says. “You all know that. And talking’s something I can do.” He grins. “One of the only things I can do.”
“It’s not one of the only things you can do,” Neil says quickly. A pause. “Mind you, it’s not a bad idea, that.”
“Of course,” Innes goes on, “the market is saturated. Everyone and their dog has got a podcast now. To stand out, you need an in. Having the Axe King as the first guest? That might get people’s attention.” He turns his head to me. “I know it’s your first time in the house, and it’s probably too early to be asking. But I’ve no idea how long this thing with my sister’s going to last, so I thought I’d better get in while I could.”
“Innes!” Briony gasps.
I laugh. Can’t help it. Winking at Briony, I say, “Innes, if you start a podcast, I’ll come on it.”
After dinner, I offer to help clear up, but Kathy won’t hear of it. She says she’s going to fill the dishwasher, then Neil will make everyone coffee in a little bit. In the meantime, Briony is keen to give me a tour of the house, which is fine by me.
The tour ends in her childhood bedroom, which is filled with keepsakes and trinkets, a bit like her flat, only with more soft toys. A cork board over the desk is covered in photos. In many of them, she’s posing in the middle of a gang of girls.
“Who are this lot?” I say, nodding at the photos.
“Oh, just friends from school.”
“You still see them?”
“Not really. Everyone went off to uni, and I was at college, and then the shop took over everything. Somewhere along the way, we drifted apart.” She shrugs. “You know how it is.”
I nod, thinking of the photos in her hall at Rowanbank Street. Her maw and da. Innes. Penny. None of these girls.
“It’s a lovely home,” I say. “You were lucky, growing up here.”
“I know.” She sits on her bed and pats the spot beside her. “I really was.”
I join her, looking around the bedroom some more, imagining a teenage Briony surrounded by all this stuff.
“I’m sorry about my mum hounding you about your family. I’ll make sure she reins it in for the rest of the night, I promise.”
“Don’t worry about it. Honestly, I was expecting worse. I’d say she’s gone easy on me so far.”
She squeezes my hand, then leans in and kisses me, slow and soft.
“I know meeting my family isn’t the most fun way to spend a Friday night,” she says against my lips, “but you’ll get your reward later, back at Rowanbank Street.”
Her hand settles on my thigh, then slides up it and strokes my crotch through my jeans.
“I still haven’t had this in my mouth,” she whispers. “I’d like to fix that.”
My cock twitches against her palm.
She draws back from my mouth and smiles, her eyes twinkling. “I felt that.” Her fingers keep moving over me, slow and teasing.
My eyes drop to her lips. Soft and pink, a wee bit swollen from the kiss. Such a sweet, polite mouth. The same one that says “shiitake mushrooms” instead of “shit”. I picture it wrapped around my cock.
Those big blue eyes looking up at me while she takes me as deep as she can. Her cheeks hollowing as she sucks me. Spit on her chin.
Fuck.
