Free At Last by Billy London Page B

like it), or being picked up from work to go to dinner or just stay at his flat. He wasn’t due to start his apprenticeship with Robert Matthews for another week, so he was just adding to his portfolio with random photographs. I had to talk him out of taking them of me. I told him that I didn’t want to have pictures of me without any clothes on landing on the Internet.
    He gave me a look over the viewer of the camera and grinned. “How would you know?”
    That scared me, enough to want to wait to meet his parents, who apparently returned to London eager to see who was keeping their son so occupied. “Chicken,” Ryan taunted as he got ready to meet them for dinner.
    “It's for your own good. I don't want them to tell you that you're punching above your weight with me.”
    He leaned down to give me a brief kiss. “Too late.”
    I was really careful about broadcasting just how happy I was. Chris’ vitriolic demand had put me on edge. The first Sunday in three weeks that I was at home, and not recovering from a night partying with Ryan and the guys, Mum and I sat on my bed watching 27 Dresses together.
    “Are you and Ryan very serious then?”
    James Marsden has the best smile, and distractedly I said, “Serious enough. He’s my boyfriend.”
    She nudged me. “Are you in love?”
    “I love chocolate,” I dismissed her, not wanting her to get overexcited and buy a hat for the wedding she’d planned in the last twenty minutes in her mind. Something crossed my own mind; it wasn’t something I’d ever even thought about. Well, I would have had to have been in a relationship to do so.
    “Mum?”
    “Yes, Courtney?”
    “Do you mind? Me going out with Ryan?”
    “Of course not! What a silly thing to say. You could be at home more, but if he makes you happy…”
    “He does,” I said with a half-smile. “Really happy.”
    “Then that’s all that matters.”
    “And you don’t mind that he’s…”
    “White? No. Why would I? Your surname is Phillips—you don’t think you’ve got some white floating in you somewhere?”
    I told myself off for the extremely dirty thought that hit my mind, and shrugged. “I know, but Andie’s parents were really odd when she started seeing her first boyfriend.”
    “It wasn’t because he was white,” my mum mocked, “it was because he was a chav.”
    I laughed. “Okay!” I cuddled into her. “Thank you.”
    The next big hurdle was Andie and Summer. We hadn’t at all been great since the whole Summer/Iain debacle, more so now that the two were a proper couple. I called Andie first, only to hear, “What da fuck, man! What's wrong with you? Hello?”
    “Who are you swearing at?”
    “Some fool who tried to run me over, innit? Y’all right?”
    I felt tears prickle my eyes. Andie was such a hard nut on the outside, but she was all bloody marshmallow. She’d never admit it though. “I miss you.”
    She paused. “Yeah?”
    “I could have done with your advice.”
    “What for?”
    “Sex.”
    “What?!” she fairly screamed. “You’ve been penetrated?”
    “Andie!” I said, disgusted.
    “Boy! I thought Jesus would come back to earth before that happened. How was it? Did you have fun?”
    “I found out I still had a hymen. Who knew? But Ryan made it all romantic, and he made sure I was comfortable and relaxed and…as far as the horror stories of a girl’s first time goes, it was pretty sweet.”
    “Rah, Court, man. Good for you, yeah? I’m glad you waited for someone you love. Makes all the difference. Not like that cunt-o-phile Pedro. Soon as he took off the condom, zoom, boy was on next pussy like he was about to die!”
    I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. “Do you want to come out for a drink? After work—I know you’re busy.”
    “Nah, I can come.” She hesitated. “What about Summer?”
    “I’m going to ask her to come too.”
    “All right,” she drew out. “We’ll see, yeah? Look, I gotta jet. I’ll see you in where?”
    “Usual! Down