Page 59 of Just Like You
It was all I needed to hear. The relief washed off me in gentle waves as I let my head lean against his shoulder.
“I missed you.”
“I did too. And, you know. Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. I should apologise, but it didn’t even occur to me to mention Gina. She’s important, and someone I hope you will come to love as much as I do. She’s totally lovely, but don’t ever try to touch her lips because she puts so much filler in there that they’re constantly about to explode. You’ve been warned.”
“Fuck’s sake.”
“That’s what I tell her, but she does what she does.”
“I can see that.”
“Plastic fantastic.”
“It’s her thing, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
We were talking nonsense, but it felt so good. Just being back with him had made me drowsy and soft. Like I could sleep, right here. Finally relaxing and…feeling whole.
“Sorry if I fall asleep. I was up all night.”
“Idiot. You should have gone to the hotel. Got a room.”
“Didn’t get that far. Couldn’t find out which hotel you were at and I…I didn’t want to miss you.”
“Sorry. Everything happened so fast, and… You know. We found each other, and that’s all that matters. We’ll get better at this. I’ll let you know where I’m going and…you need to give me your schedule so I know where you’re at. I can request New Yorks, you know. Come annoy you on your work trips.”
“I’d love that.”
“It could…you know…work.”
“I still want you to come spend time with me. Stay for a weekend.”
“I’d love that.”
“And I want to come stay at your house.”
“It’s a tiny newbuild in Farnborough. Nothing exciting about that.”
“Don’t care. Gina said it was snazzy.”
“Wouldn’t call Farnborough snazzy, but okay?”
He smiled, pressing a kiss into my hair. And just like that? I fell asleep on his shoulder.
Chapter Seventeen
Julian
Hey!!! Got into LA last night, went out and met this gorgeous guy down at The B Club. Turns out he’s in a polycule, and he took me home to meet the other guys. Ended up doing some pills, next thing I’m in bed with three of them. Not sure how I feel about it today, my head is pounding as hard as the one my arse took. You still haven’t told me what you were on about with Gina DeSanto. You met her or what?
Jules? Comeon! I need the tea?
Boring. Come on!
How we made it to the room, I didn’t quite understand. I seemed to be running on an overdose of adrenaline, where Kieron was just completely out of it. I suppose I was used to being awake for twenty-four hours, where he was the kind of guy who ran on a solid eight hours a night. In my defence, I’d had a two-hour nap at some point during the flight, but I never rested well on board. A crappy seat behind a curtain didn’t do much for your sleep-deprived body, and when we did have a proper place to sleep for our breaks? I still couldn’t relax, and most of the time, if I stopped working, I felt worse. Which was why I was now hyper-sensitised and anxious again, and where I shoved Kieron through the hotel room door and watched him do that thing, that I’d realised was very him. Where he walked in a circle, wringing his hands, trying to figure out where he was and what he was doing.
