Page 31 of Someone Like You

“Not what you expected from an old bachelor?”

“No, I just…” Phil’s fingertips dragged along the top of the TV, then rubbed against one another, immaculate. “It wasn’t very long ago that I couldn’t even brush my teeth, let alone keep my living space in order.”

Ian crossed his arms, leaning against the door frame as one foot crossed over the other. “My ma died when I was fifteen and my da worked his arse off for ten hours a day… Had to learn to take care of myself.”

He’d had to pull through his most difficult years on his own, with a little help from Uncle Rory and his hands-on attitude. It’d been lonely, sometimes crushingly so, but, as Rory always said,‘what doesnae kill ye makes ye a pain in the arse’, and Ian was proudly living up to that philosophy.

Phil cracked him a smile. “But you can’t cook.”

“Imagine if I’d beenthatperfect.”

“I’d rather not.”

It lacked the customary humour of Phil’s quips. There was no mischievous spark in his eyes either.

Those eyes… Those damn hazel eyes packed with grief and fatigue and a haunting beauty that Ian had never found in anyone else. Every time he was with Phil, a strange euphoria and a heart-wrenching sadness took over him, waging a war that left Ian breathless and bleeding. But there was a sweetness to it, an awareness that, however painful, that sentiment wasn’t misplaced.

“Want to order something for dinner?” He asked, trying to breathe through the heaviness in his chest. “Best my fridge can offer is a piece and turkey.”

“Awhatand turkey?”

“It’s a sandwich.”

“I’m not really hungry. Too much of Sandra’s pie.”

“Drink?”

“Whatever you have is fine.”

Ian left with a grunt of affirmation. He’d never really noticed how plain and tiny his kitchen was. The whole flat, actually. All his drinking buddies down at the pub were working-class like him: no one had fancy cars, fancy clothes, or fancy homes. Phil was one of those folk Ian would’ve frowned upon in the street, with the high-end vibes he oozed. It would’ve been unthinkable that two people as socially different as they were could get along, let alone grow as close as they had, and yet here they were.

A smile tugged at Ian’s lips while he put together a sandwich for himself. He’d only had a protein shake after his workout to rush straight back to work and his stomach had been growling for hours, but he’d forgotten about it the very moment he’d set foot into the café.

Back to the living room with his plate and a couple of cans of Pepsi, he stopped dead in his tracks before the most puzzling sight:Phil was sitting on the couch, immobile, with Kibble making biscuits in his lap. The look he cast Ian was pleading for help.

“How?” Ian chortled.

“I just sat down,” said Phil, “and she… she came out of nowhere and started sniffing me like a drug dog, and then…” He helplessly glanced down at his legs. “She doesn’t sound happy.”

“She’spurring,” Ian informed him, setting the plates and the Pepsis down on the coffee table. “Trust me, she’s happy.”

“Oh?” Phil didn’t seem convinced.

Ian crouched down in front of Kibble to scratch her little head. “You werehissingat him just minutes ago, you wee slag.” Kibble let out a trill, jutting her chin out so that Ian knew she wanted him to move his scratches there. The purring intensified. Ian melted. He had never loved a human being the way he’d loved any of his animals.

“Watch this,” he told Phil. He sat down and the very moment his arse touched the couch Kibble perked up in Phil’s lap, stretched back and forward, then hopped over to Ian to settle down across his thighs.

Despite his former reservations, Phil looked outraged. “Is that so? Did I ever mean anything to you?” He even dared to run a knuckle between Kibble’s ears.

“Don’t take it personally. She’s Daddy’s girl through and through.”

“I’ll admit she’s cute now that I know she wasn’t plotting to maul me.”

“She’s a sweetheart,” said Ian, stroking Kibble’s back. “Unless she smells evil. I trust her judgement, she’s never been wrong about anyone.”

“Did she like Jamie?”

Ian had to think about it. “She tolerated him. Would let him pet her and give her treats, but never… I don’t think he ever managed to hold her.”

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