Page 19 of Meet You Half Way
It was a cute set up, the whole place decked out in that rustic beach style with mismatched furniture and lots of rattan. The kitchen cabinets were a distressed green and it looked so homely that I kind of didn’t want to leave.
I found my phone number still tacked to the fridge in the exact same spot I had left it and I couldn’t help myself from walking closer and picking up the pen. I added ‘please call me, Mateo’ with a little love heart to the note and then smiled when I thought of Mateo seeing it. He’d probably be annoyed, probably let out a huff and an eyeroll but that was fine too. I kind of liked evoking that reaction from him.
That was where Rob found me a moment later, a knowing smile on his face as he moved around me for the coffee machine.
“Jamie. Surprised to see you here again,” he said, that teasing smile on his face.
“Yeah I’m sure you’re really shocked,” I returned. He just laughed at that as he made himself a coffee from the machine.
“You sneaking out again?” he asked as I tied my shoes.
“Trying to. Failing again.”
“You want a coffee before you go?”
“Nah I’m good. I’ve got about an hour before my shift starts so I’ll grab some coffee and breakfast on the way.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Yeah. Well, it was nice seeing you again, Rob,” I grinned.
“You too,” he replied. He hesitated before saying, “Hey, be patient with him. He just needs a little time and a little effort but I get the feeling you could be really good for him.”
“Is that what you think?” I couldn’t help laughing.
“Yeah. He’s … complicated, I know. But he’s also worth it.” This was the friend speaking now, the loyal guy standing up for Mateo. I could only appreciate that.
“I know he is, Rob,” I agreed. “But I’m not quite sure I’m what he’s looking for. Or specificallywhohe’s looking for.”
Rob sighed deeply. “Just, don’t give up on him too quickly. You might just be exactly what he needs.”
“I’ll try but I don’t even have his number. He’s never given it to me.”
“Okay well I will rectify that for you right now,” Rob said, reading my number off the note pad on the fridge as he pealed off a text. I heard my phone ping a second later and I knew he had just given me what I both dreaded and yearned for at the same time. A way to contact Mateo.
“Thanks, mate,” I said anyway. We shared a brief smile and then I turned and headed for the pink front door. Nick was there on the other side, waiting for Rob as he leaned up against a red Jeep Wrangler as the dawn light spread across the sky. His hair was still wet and I wondered if he’d been out for a surf already. He looked the type.
“Hey, Jamie,” he called, that pleasant smile lighting up his face. Nick really did seem to be a genuine friend to Mateo and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. But I’d also never beenthe jealous type and I wasn’t about to start all that now so I gave him a quick hello in return and headed for my car, wondering what on earth I was doing.
I gave it a week before I caved and texted Mateo. I’d tried to hold out so badly, wanted him to contact me first in a way that was really kind of pathetic for a healthy twenty-seven year old man who had managed to put himself through university and bought real estate. I was not sixteen and in lust with my first boyfriend like I remembered from those first all-consuming and confusing days. But try telling that to my rational mind when my body was reminding me on a daily basis how much it wanted Mateo.
I’d had a rough day at work. Bill and I had lost a patient in the back of the ambulance and we hadn’t been able to revive him. We’d lost patients before but it never got any easier.
I was already two beers into the evening and I knew that wasn’t the best or healthiest way to cope. Usually I loved living at home by myself but sometimes it sucked. We had a decent support program at work and I’d been reminded of the service after Bill and I had clocked off earlier this afternoon.
But I hadn’t called the support line. Instead, I’d let my mind drift to thoughts of Mateo, the slide of his body against mine, the taste of his lips on my mouth. The indescribable feeling of being inside him.
Nowthatwas the kind of therapy I could do with right now.
So I caved and texted him. I’d convinced myself that he was the kind of guy who liked to be chased and really, with a face likethat I doubt he’d ever had to ask first. So I would swallow my pride and play his game.
Message
(Today) at 7:12pm
ME:
Hey stranger, what’s up?
