Page 105 of Off the Pitch

“That won’t work for today,” Hugo said. “You can come and stay with me instead.”

“Really?” That probably wasn’t the right response, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say. “You can’t be serious?”

“Of course I am,” Hugo said. He smiled down at me. “You’re my friend and you’re in trouble. I’m not letting you stay anywhere else. My flat has two bedrooms, plenty of space if you want to bring any work with you, and lots of natural light which will make art easier.”

“Oh…” The tight feeling in my chest eased, as if I’d suddenly been unlaced from a very uncomfortable corset. Only it seemed to have released a swarm of butterflies at the same time, which were filling my insides and dancing on my nerves. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Hugo reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Now, what do you need? Do you want to pack your stuff? I’ll wait down here in case the insurance people arrive. Don’t worry if we need to make several trips. I can just get us a taxi, so bring as much as you want.”

He gently pushed me towards the stairs, and I went without complaint. There was an old suitcase under my bed that I could fill with clothes, and my art supplies would fit in my messenger bag. The only problem would be my computer, since it was an old desktop, but I was sure we could figure it out between us. One of us surely had to have a reasonable sized box kicking around.

There was a strange warmth burning inside me, and it was a feeling I couldn’t identify. All I knew was that it had something to do with Hugo… and I wanted to keep feeling it for as long as possible.

Chapter Eight

HugoWhat’s your favourite film?

KitThe Sound of Music—an eccentric choice I know but so it goes. Yours?

HugoTruthfully?My Neighbour Totorobut I don’t tell most people that

KitWell it’s a wonderful choice! My favourite Miyazaki isSpirited Away

Hugo

“Do you want to get a takeaway tonight?”

Kit looked up from the table we’d allocated as his desk, tearing his eyes away from his monitor for the first time in hours and giving me a weary smile.

“That sounds good,” he said. “Do you know what you want? Oooh, maybe we could get Thai food? Or Indian? I mean it’s your choice. I don’t mind.”

“Kit, do you want Thai food?” I raised my eyebrow, trying to hide my laughter. It had been a week since he’d moved in, and after the initial awkwardness, we’d settled into an easy routine. Despite his protestations that he was a terrible housemate, I’d actually found Kit to be incredibly easy to live with.

He was funny, interesting, and the most amazing chef, happily spending his evenings pottering away in my kitchen while regaling me with stories about David, or his art, or talking to me about whatever subject popped into his head. Our conversations were always fascinating, and I was continuously enchanted by him. Sure, he wasn’t the tidiest person I’d ever met, but that didn’t particularly bother me. He tried his best, and that was all that mattered.

“Actually,” Kit said as he scrunched up his nose in the most adorable way, “can we get Chinese? I’m dying for some crispy chilli beef!”

“You read my mind,” I said. “Anything else you want?”

“Can we get salt and pepper squid too? Oooh and make sure you get noodles and rice.”

“Done.” I chuckled, pulling up a takeaway app and searching for the restaurant I wanted. I settled myself on the sofa, selecting dishes and watching Kit as he returned to work.

He’d pulled his shoulder-length hair up into a scrappy bun, but little strands kept falling out of it to frame his face. Every time I looked at him, I was blown away by how handsome he was.

I’d never known anyone like him, and I was starting to realise my life was brighter with him in it.

The first time I’d realised just how special he was had been a few days ago, when he’d turned up with a bouquet of doughnuts, each carefully impaled on a wooden skewer. The whole thing had been tied together with ribbon, with a card tucked into the box declaring ‘Because you can’t eat flowers!’.

“These are for you,” Kit had said as he’d handed them over carefully, as if he was a little shy about giving them to me. “Just a little token of my appreciation for everything.”

They’d been delicious, each one iced and covered in rainbow sprinkles that had ended up all over my sofa. It was little things like that that made my insides bubble, and not from eating too many doughnuts either.

I’d not felt this way about anyone in a long time. I mean, the last few years of my relationship with Hélène had been a downward spiral of indifference, convenience, and hatred. I couldn’t even pinpoint the moment that had started, all I knew was the way I felt about Kit now was something I’d forgotten I could feel.

And we weren’t even dating.

Shaking my head, I picked up my book, not wanting to disturb Kit by turning on the TV. Trying to focus on the words was impossible though, and I found myself reading the same sentence over and over without actually absorbing what it said.

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