I practically had to throw him out the door earlier, trying to make sure he would go out with his friends and not just mope around the flat. I'd have kept him by my side all the time if I had my way but Isabel had warned me not to suffocate him or smother him so I begrudgingly mentioned his friends one evening, suggesting he meet up with them.

Understandably he had been suspicious of my motives seeing as I had never mentioned it before but now that we were actually trying to be in a proper relationship I wanted him to be happy in all aspects of his life and not just the parts with me in it.

I probably should have done something with my evening but instead I moped around the flat. When I tired of reading I would attempt to watch the television but I was restless. I should have realised that letting Tim out on a longer leash would cause me to be agitated and nervous for the evening. I wondered who he was with and what he was doing, who he was talking to.

It's not that I didn't trust him, I just knew that he had a track record for trying to please anyone and everyone and when you had a boyfriend who looked like he did it was almost guaranteed he would be hit on all the time.

I regretted having told him to go out anywhere by the time he came home. It was nearing three in the morning and I will never be able to work out how he managed to get home safely when it was apparent he could barely tell you his own name.

I'd still been up and met him at the door, taking in his glassy eyes expression and rumpled appearance before pulling him into the flat. I tried to be stern but his antics just made me laugh affectionately. It was his boyish charms that let him get away with everything and though I tried I couldn't stay annoyed at him. My stomach gave an uncomfortable pang when I saw the traces of lipstick near his lips but I tried to reason it off and not think the worst. Tim had told me to trust him and I was going to.

"Ivo," he had slurred with a cheeky smile. "What are you doing here," he laughed to himself.

"I live here," I told him and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I live here too," he exclaimed happily.

"Right," I replied warily, trying to detangle him from his own coat and scarf.

He watched me as I undid his shoelaces, pulling his shoes from his feet and trying to steady him as he became unbalanced. Even in this state he was still so endearing and I cursed myself for being so infatuated with this boy.

"Dance with me Ivo," he sighed sleepily as I tried to steer him towards the bedroom, his expression changing to something sultry.

"Mmmmm, yes," he whispered, planting a sloppy kiss near my mouth. "Let's fuck," he whispered, probably sounding sexy in his own head. He scrunched up his face in confusion when I laughed.

"No, Tim. It's bedtime."

He fell onto the bed with a soft thump before laying back languidly on the duvet, his eyes watching me as I opened drawers to find pyjamas for him. By the time I had found some for him he had already closed his eyes and was snoring softly.

I unbuttoned his shirt and tried to peel it away from him without jostling him too much. Each time my fingers brushed his skin he would give a soft hum and snuggle further into the bed covers. Taking his jeans off was more of a challenge but I managed eventually, pulling the cover over him and putting an empty bin beside him on the floor in case he threw up.

I wondered whether it was even worth falling asleep but I cuddled up close behind him anyway, smoothing his still sweaty hair back from his forehead and kissing his cheek. I felt warmed by his soft sigh of contentment and soon join him in sleep.