WILD THING (18+) - COMPLETED

THEM

The next morning, when they came down for breakfast, Cara and Jonah were greeted by Matthew, standing fully-dressed in the foyer with a suitcase beside him.

"What's going on?" Jonah asked, pouring himself a glass of orange juice after Cara said she didn't want one.

"Nothing you should worry about," Matthew replied, his lips twitching suspiciously. "Our new branch is Glasgow needs some executive direction, so I'll be there for the next few days."

He covered his mouth with his hand, like he was about to laugh, but when he dropped his hand, his expression had straightened again.

"Of course, this has nothing to do with the fact that the walls in my Glasgow apartment are very thick," he continued. "Can't hear a sound from the other rooms."

Cara and Jonah groaned in unison, and Matthew finally let the laugh he'd been holding back burst free. He ducked to dodge the bottle cap his little brother threw at him, and he was still laughing as he rolled his suitcase out of the house, Jonah following him outside.

"Look, enjoy the time you have together," Matthew said, leaning against his car with the driver's door open. "I'm glad you guys worked things out, but it's a process, not an event. Use this time to work on this obviously special thing you have."

Jonah rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Sure, Dad."

With another laugh and a wave goodbye, Matthew got into his car and drove off. Jonah stood outside for a little bit after his brother had left. They didn't say it often to each other, but he loved Matthew, and he knew his brother loved him too.

And being here with him in the wake of the breakup might have been the best thing he could have possibly done, because Matthew liked making jokes, sure, but he had a very sensible head on his shoulders, and he always gave sound advice.

"Babe?"

Jonah turned at the sound of Cara's voice. She was peeking outside the front door, looking adorably rumpled in his sweatshirt and a pair of leggings.

"Everything okay?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. Jonah smiled and walked back to her, kissing her forehead before he guided her back inside.

"Yeah. Everything's okay."

***

The remainder of the winter break was a sort of gentle delicious blur for both Cara and Jonah. They spent their days exploring London – mostly for Cara's benefit, since Jonah had been around often enough that the place was now familiar.

With the endurance of a martyr, Jonah let Cara drag him along on a bus tour, smiling at her delight as they boarded the double decker bus. Most of the time, she was like a little girl, giggling and squealing at things she'd only read about or seen in the movies, snorting with laughter when Jonah explained that they called them chips here, not fries, and posing for pictures at every attraction they visited.

Their evenings were spent either dining out or at home, enjoying Jonah's amazing cooking. But the one constant was they couldn't keep their hands off each other, every night ending in Jonah's bigger bed, their bodies feeding off each other until the morning sun shyly made an appearance.

Christmas felt magical, with Matthew back from Scotland for a few days, every house on the street lit up with decorative lights. Matthew had some of his friends over for dinner, and they made good-natured remarks about how lovey-dovey Cara and Jonah were, making Cara blush to the roots of her hair.

On New Year's Eve, Jonah took Cara to watch the fireworks go off at Embankment, and he kissed her deeply under the brilliant lights and the loud cheers of people celebrating the new year when the clock struck midnight.