He looks around before grabbing my face and kissing me quickly, the warmth of his lips there and gone. “Shakespeare and a blowjob followed by a fuck in the toilets.”

“Well, you know what Shakespeare said.” I put my hand to my forehead in a dramatic pose and proclaim, “It’s an ill wind which blows no man to good.”

He stares at me. “I’m pretty sure that no character in a Shakespeare play ever blew their boyfriends in a toilet stall, so I’m also certain that you’ve misused that quote. I’d just love to know how you came up with it.”

I shake my head. “Really, Charlie? I did go to school, you know. We bankers are inscrutable people with many hidden talents. I happen to like Shakespeare.”

He looks impressed, and I hope I never have to confess that in reality I googled Shakespeare and blowjobs. I’d had to wade through a lot of very startling results before I’d struck gold, and I hope my workplace never has a reason to search my internet history.

“That it, Charlie?” I ask, keeping my hands on his hips. “Any more culture that you need to imbibe? I’m sure we could fit in a few more museums, or maybe we could go and read a copy of War and Peace by the banks of the river while we paint mud in artistic patterns on each other’s bodies and proclaim poetry.”

He blinks, amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes. “I was thinking of going for a nice juicy steak, but if you’re really set on mud body painting I’ll go along with you. As long as we buy some wet wipes first.”

I shake my head and whirl around, tugging him after me, the sound of his laughter loud in the night. “Why didn’t you mention steak? We’re wasting time.”

“I’ve had the best time tonight, Misha,” he says quietly.

“Me too. The very best.”

“To be fair, you haven’t been on that many dates.”

“If I’d been on a hundred dates, Charlie, I know this would have been the best. Do you know why?” He shakes his head and I lean closer and kiss his ear before saying, “Because it’s with you. You make everything better.” He swallows hard and I wink at him. “Told you I was good at this shit. I’m a natural.”

“I don’t think a natural would use the words ‘this shit’ to describe a date.”

I laugh and tug him close and we wander next to the river talking and laughing. It’s like a thousand other times I’ve spent with Charlie but made immeasurably better because now I can hold his hand. Now, he’s mine.

Chapter Fourteen

Charlie