“I don’t care if you drool on my shoulder, just sit with me. We’ve hardly talked in days.”
Before I could respond he ushered me to a window seat. Trev lifted my suitcase with one arm, which was pretty impressive, and deposited it in the overhead bin. Then he slid into the seat beside me and grinned.
“See, that wasn’t so hard.”
I arched a brow. “Did I have a choice?”
His grin widened. “Nope.”
Callum and Paul took the two seats opposite ours, while James, Leanne and Isaac sat just across the aisle. I stuck my headphones in and listened to music as the train left the station. A few minutes into the journey, Trev nudged me with his shoulder and held out his injured wrist.
“I’m making everyone write something on here. Want to go first?”
I smiled wide as I glanced at his cast and placed a hand to my heart. “Why, Trevor, I’d be honoured to break you in.”
His expression turned playful as he handed me a blue Sharpie. I uncapped it and took a moment to think about what to write, then a funny thought struck me. I held his hand at an angle so he couldn’t see, scribbled something down, then handed the Sharpie back to him. His eyes gleamed with pleasure when he saw what I wrote, his mouth curving in a slow smile as he read aloud.
“This happened to your right hand because God’s been watching you in the shower. Let it be a lesson.”
Everyone laughed while I shot Trev a challenging smirk. “It was a toss-up between that and ‘Too glam to give a damn’.”
He narrowed his gaze, his mouth twitching as he tried not to smile. “Of course, it was.” A pause as he looked at his cast again, then effected an offended expression. “God’s a pervert.”
“Oh yeah, total voyeur,” said Paul. “The religion part’s just a front.”
“This is the reason why I’m glad to be sharing a bathroom with only Reya for the rest of the trip,” Leanne put in. “I know exactly what you lot get up to in the shower.”
“I thought we agreed never to speak of that,” Paul added humorously.
Leanne chuckled. “Right, my bad.”
“The shower is the most hygienic place to do it though,” James reasoned with a demure smirk.
Leanne held out a hand. “Spare me the details.”
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“Actually, I was,” I admitted. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s not like it’s only a guy thing,” said Cal, peering at Leanne in challenge. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t ‘enjoy’ the massage feature on your shower head back home.”
Her shoulders straightened as she levelled him with a provocative look. “Why would I bother when I have plenty of vibrators to do the job?”
James barked a laugh. “She got you good with that one, Cal.”
Callum’s green eyes glinted as he looked to Leanne again. “You do realise you just confessed to everyone you’ve got a dildo collection, right?”
Leanne’s smile was cutting. “Only because I stole it from you. I never thought you’d be into the whole ‘bend-over-boyfriend’ thing. I guess people are full of surprises.”
Callum laughed loudly and threw his hands up. “Okay, you win. I have nothing.”
“Hold up a second, people steal dildo collections?” Paul asked with a theatrical shudder. “Now that’s unhygienic.”
“Give him a slap for me, will you, Reya?” Leanne asked. “I can’t reach from here.”
Paul chuckled. “You’re the one who said you stole Callum’s dildos. I’m only commenting on your own admission.”
“Can we please change the subject from sex-toy theft?” James begged, glancing over his shoulder to make sure our neighbours weren’t listening.
“Why?” Paul asked. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“Uh, yes,” James answered immediately and I huffed a laugh. Watching this lot interact was hilarious. Isaac’s amused features said the same. When I glanced at Trev I found him staring at me, his expression fond.
“He doesn’t like talking about stealing,” Callum put in, joining forces with Paul. “Because it reminds him of the time he nicked a quid from his granny’s purse to buy a bag of apple bonbons. He still has some residual guilt.”
James rolled his eyes. “You’re hilarious, Cal.”
“And you’re a saint. We need to dirty you up. I bet you’ve never even made a prank phone call.”
“Hey, that’s a serious crime,” Trev put in jokingly.
“You’re one to talk,” said Callum. “We’d be able to fill an encyclopaedia with all the laws you’ve broken.”
Trev flipped him off.
“You’re just jealous because Trev’s the real deal, and you’re a fake-arse bad boy. The tattoos fool no one,” said James, arching a brow.
Callum shot him a narrow-eyed look and pulled a packet of chewing gum from his pocket.
“Just out of curiosity,” said Leanne, her attention on Trev, “exactly what laws have you broken? James and Cal know all about your past, but you lot keep Paul and me in the dark.”
“Aw, don’t have hurt feelings. I have to maintain my air of mystery somehow,” said Trev.
I studied him, surprised Leanne and Paul didn’t know. He’d never been the secretive type, far from it. Trev was more inclined to tell you every shameful thought in his head for the simple pleasure of seeing the shock on your face.
“Bullshit. Come on, tell us. We’re on TV together. If that doesn’t qualify us for entry into your circle of trust then I don’t know what does,” said Paul.
Trev shot him an exasperated look and glanced out the window a second. When he looked at Paul again his expression was serious. “I mostly stole cars.”
“Mostly?” Leanne asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Oh, he also used to jump the barriers at tube stations to avoid paying the ticket fare,” I said in an effort to lighten the mood. “I’d be swiping my Oyster card and he’d already be halfway to the platform.”
“That’s kids’ stuff,” said Paul with a wave of his hand. “I want to hear how you steal a car.”
“Why? It’s not like you need to steal anything,” Trev countered, a touch of hostility in his tone. I knew this was a somewhat touchy subject for him. Without thinking I touched my fingers to his thigh in comfort. His blinked in surprise.
Paul shrugged. “Morbid curiosity, I guess.”
Trev exhaled a deep breath. I sensed he decided to indulge him when he cast his gaze back to me. There was a hint of wickedness behind his eyes, like an idea was forming. “Fine, but I’ll need some help. Reya?”
“Sure,” I said easily, though I wasn’t sure why he needed my assistance. Before I could question him, he took my hand and pulled me up from my seat. He led me into the aisle and positioned me so I faced him. “Okay, so let’s pretend our lovely Reya here is a car.”
I scoffed a laugh. “Wow, I’m flattered.”
Trev’s lips twitched. “Humour me.”
“What kind?” Callum asked.
Trev pondered it a moment, rubbing his chin. “Something expensive and exotic. A Lexus?”