Page 67 of Meet You Half Way
“Well if you’re intent on giving them away I certainly won’t say no,” Ajay replied.
“All right, let me show you what I’ve got,” I said.
And that was why Rob and Nick returned to the house with bags full of chocolate croissants and apple cinnamon muffins to find me and Ajay gushing over the bag of samples I’d been given from the set yesterday. As anticipated, Ajay fit into all of them so I’d given him the lot and I could see how much that meant to him. I guess he maybe didn’t have as much as I’d thought but I suppose I’d never really given him a chance to get to know him before either.
Rob and Nick watched on warily as Ajay and I came out of Dane’s bedroom together, Ajay wearing one of the charcoal long sleeved tops I’d modelled yesterday.
“Hello,” Rob said cautiously, eyes pinging between us.
“Hi,” I said cheerfully as Ajay walked over to Nick and pressed a kiss to his mouth. And guess what? Nothing, not a flicker of reaction from me. Not a sigh, not a hint. Certainly not any pangs of longing or grief or loss. Nothing but a very, very recently acquired sense of happiness that my best friend had found the person his soul loved the most.
I had never felt freer in all my life than I did right then, standing in Ajay’s kitchen and eating chocolate croissants with my best friends at my side, Nick carefully brushing cinnamon from Ajay’s lips, me watching on with a detached smile.
And later that afternoon, as Rob and I stepped out of the apartment to give Nick and Ajay a moment to say goodbye, I knew I was completely set free.
“I’m free of him,” I told Rob as we waited out on the street.
“Free of who? Nick?” Rob asked, surprise lighting his features.
“Uh huh,” I said. I felt Rob grip my elbow, a huge smile on his face.
“I never thought I’d see the day,” he smiled. “I am so happy for you. Is it because of Jamie?”
“Yeah. It’s because of Jamie,” I agreed. “I love him, Rob.”
“Course you do,” he grinned. “It was obvious to us all.”
“Then you should know I’ve managed to royally fuck things up with him,” I told him.
“Ah. I thought something was up with you but you were also giving out your very strongdon’t talk to mevibes,” Rob said. “Is it salvageable?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted just as Nick trudged down onto the street, a heavy sadness on his shoulders.
“Hey, man,” Rob said, drawing him in for a hug. I hesitated for a second before I wrapped my arms around Nick too, feeling the sadness coming off him in waves.
“This is the part I hate the most,” he murmured.
“Where’s Ajay?” I asked.
“He doesn’t come down when we say goodbye. Too hard,” Nick sighed. I knew my friend was in love with Ajay but I honestly could never have known how deep that love went until I’d let myself see it with my own eyes. It was the real deal for them. For both of them. I could see that now.
“I’m sorry,” I offered.
Nick sighed heavily. “Just so you both know, I’m going to be moving up here as soon as I finish my building apprenticeship. I can’t live without Ajay for much longer.”
“We get it,” Rob said, patting Nick on the back.
“Yeah, we do,” I agreed. We stood in our sweet little friendship huddle out on the street below Ajay’s apartment as we tried to offer our friend the comfort he needed. But I was also growing in desperation to be on the road. I had something I desperately needed to do.
“Do you think we could hit the road? I have a relationship with the man I love to try and salvage.”
“Really?” Nick asked, looking up at me with so much hope and happiness for me in his eyes that it almost bowled me over. He wanted this for me too. He wanted me to know love like the one he had found with Ajay. And for the first time in my life, I was ready for it too.
“Yes, really,” I told them, watching as he and Rob shared the biggest grin with each other.
“Fucking finally. Well, come on then. Let’s go get you your man,” Nick announced, smiling as he moved to the driver’s seat and we all piled in for the long trek home, my heart wedged somewhere up near my throat.
CHAPTER 27
