Fire and Freedom - Book One of the Café Latte Trilogy

Chapter Seventeen - Jasper

CW: discussions of HIV and the AIDs crisis.

Chapter Seventeen – Jasper

I woke up in Ross' arms, and it felt damn good. I had been so surprised by his sudden offer, but I certainly wasn't arguing. I knew the others had been pressuring Ross about me, but I was glad that Jenny had stepped in to give him some advice that made him really think. I liked that he wanted to see me regularly. I wasn't naïve enough to expect anything more, but I liked what I was getting.

"Ross," I whispered, waking him up. "I have to go, I've got Sunday lunch with my bloody parents."

"Joy," he replied sleepily. "I'll give you a ride. Five more minutes, though."

He dragged me back down into his arms and I smiled a little, snuggling back down into his arms. "Fine, but only five minutes. They'll be so pissed if I'm back late."

After five minutes, I dragged him out of bed, which he was not happy about. He perked up once I'd made coffee, though. Sipping it, we both got dressed, but it was different than usual. He would casually touch me as I moved past him, and kissed me twice without really thinking about it. I was amazed by the difference, but didn't question him about it for fear of him getting embarrassed and taking it all back.

"So your exams," he said, as we got into his car. "They start soon?"

"Yeah," I replied, putting my seatbelt on. "We won't have classes, but you'll be seeing me and Tom way less at Fruits, to be honest. We're going to be doing cram sessions to try and get these exams finished as best as we can."

"Good," he said, and then said, "If you need a break, just call me. I'll come pick you up."

I grinned. "Study break sex? Best idea ever."

As he drove, we talked about my exams, and how I felt about each of them. I felt he was letting himself take more of an interest in my life, and I asked him about work. It sent him on a slight rant about a model named Callum, a photographer he had known, and a lot of hate towards some of his colleagues.

Interested, I asked, "This might sound super cheeky, but I want to do photography - do you think you could put me in contact with anyone you know so I can pick their brain?"

Ross considered it, and nodded. "I'll call Lewis, he's retired now but I think he'd be happy to share any wisdom you wanted. He's a great photographer. It sucks he won't be working with me anymore."

"Thanks," I beamed, and then we pulled into my street. "I'll call you later?"

"Sure," he replied, and eyed the windows of my house before leaning forwards and kissing me. I sighed happily into the kiss, and tried to ignore that my dick wanted a bit more than that. Ross unlocked the doors, eyeing me sternly, and said, "Go on, go make good decisions."

"Yes, sir," I saluted, and got out of the car. "See you."

I stretched as I went towards the house. Mum and Dad would be busy cooking, and Andrew would be helping - unsuccessfully, but still. As I opened the door, I called out, "I'm home! On time, you might notice!"

As I walked into the kitchen, Andrew shot me a warning look. Mum and Dad turned to look at me, looking very accusatory. "What?" I asked, checking my phone. "You said eleven, I'm here at eleven."

"Where have you been?" Mum asked sharply.

"I went to the Pride after-party," I frowned. "I told you I'd be out all night."

"With Tom," Mum said. "You said you'd be staying at Tom's. But see, we called Tom's to see if you could pick some things up on your way home this morning, for the dinner, and Tom seemed surprised that we thought you'd be there."