“Oh God,” I say anxiously. “I know it’s dreadful. He’s so oblivious to it, and it’s awful. One day I suddenly looked up and realised how gorgeous he is, and now I can’t stop. I’m sneaking looks at him all the time. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me.”

“Oh my God,” she says loudly.

“I know,” I break in. “I know I should be fucking ashamed of myself.”

I should definitely be ashamed of myself for the fact that I wanked over thoughts of him the other night, but I’ll keep that choice detail to myself. I’d been sitting next to him, absorbing the heat of his body, intensely aware of the hardness of his muscles, and I got so worked up I had to leap from the couch and race to my bedroom. I didn’t even make it to the bed, just locked the bedroom door behind me and took my dick out. I shot so quickly I’m sure I broke a world record.

“It’ll pass,” I say firmly. “It’s got to pass because Misha is the most important person in the world to me. I can’t ruin our friendship.”

“No. I mean, oh God, he’s coming,” she squeals.

I look up and see Misha, Rupert, and the man I dimly remember from a party who’s called Doug. He’s tall and dark-haired, but that’s all I’ve got because my attention is once again totally on Misha.

He made no attempt to conform to dress code tonight and is instead dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt. The bouncer had queried it when we first arrived, and Misha told him that he was Marty McFly and demanded the man let him in. He reluctantly obliged, although he was muttering about gilets and skateboards while he did so.

I catalogue the length of Misha’s legs, those broad shoulders, and the strong line of his jaw. His hair is longer than usual and showing that tendency to curl slightly.

“Oh shit,” I say despairingly. “I’m fucked.”

“No, you’re not, Charlie,” Bethany hisses. “You must listen to me. I need to tell you something—”

“I know what you’re going to say,” I interrupt. “You’re right. I’ll focus on Doug. It’s probably because I’m single. Once I’m seeing someone again, all these inconvenient feelings will vanish, and Misha and I can go back to normal.”

“Oh my God, you should never pursue a career as a life coach.”

“And Doug is lovely,” I say slightly desperately. “He’s a teacher, and he’s kind, and he has all his own teeth.”

“What is it with you people and your obsession with fucking teeth?” she mutters.

I ignore her and turn to the three men as they come up next to us. “Doug,” I say heartily. “How lovely to see you.”

Chapter Ten

Charlie