Page 6 of A Layperry's Hope
“I missed you too,” I tell him, burying my face against his shoulder. I know Timalah is standing right next to Miles, holding their daughter but I can’t bring myself to let go and greet them properly. Not yet.
“Okay, okay,” Miles says, being the one to pull away. “I know how much you hate this mushy stuff.”
I look at him. “You can be as mushy as you want to be, it’s okay.”
Miles blinks slowly, looking up at Timalah before looking back at me. “What have you done with my Christian?”
“I have so much to talk to you about,” I say instead of responding to his joke. Then I look up at Timalah. “Hi, Timalah. It’s really fucking good to see you again.”
“I am glad you are here,” he says with a nod.
“And how is my godson? Jesus, he’s grown! He looks like he’s ready to head off to his accounting job anyday!”
Timalah tilts his head to the side. “I don’t know what this accounting is but our son does not have a job yet. He is only two years of age, Christian.”
My chest feels lighter than it has in years. It might be the therapy I made myself go through while back on Earth or it might just be the fact that I’m back here, with my best friend. Or maybe it was watching Gendry and Aldo bring a new life into the world together on the trip here. Whatever the reason, I feel so goddamn happy. Happier than I’ve been in a really, really long time.
It’s wild what an entire year can change. When I left this place, I was certain I’d never feel like I belonged. I had to unpack a lot of my past trauma, face it head on, and somehow I’ve come out the other side feeling better than ever.
By no means am I perfect. You don’t heal in a day. It takes work and time, but I’m on the path of healing from my past hurts. I’m tired of being the guy who pushes everyone away. It’s time that I took a chance at letting people in, starting with my best friend.
“I’ve missed you guys,” I say before looking at Druim. He babbles, his face split into a wide grin. Half of his words don’t make sense but a few fly through that I catch likehiandbeeandDada. He’s got the most adorable chubby cheeks and his skin is just as golden as I remember. “I’ve missed you, Corn. I’m yourgodfather,” I tell him, reaching out and taking his little hand in mine, giving it a little shake. “It’s lovely to re-meet you.”
“Why are you being so cheery? I’m not complaining,” Miles says, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m just really confused.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to my asshole self shortly. I think I’m just in shock that we’re together again, that’s all.”
“Right,” Miles says slowly, nodding his head. “Makes sense. Some people go into shock and shut down. You go into shock and turn into sunshine personified.”
I narrow my eyes at him, my smile falling away. I cross my arms over my chest. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Oh good. There you are. I was worried they somehow replaced you on the spaceship.”
“You’re such a dick.”
Miles grins. “I know! But you love me!”
“I do,” I say, rolling my eyes. I wrap my arm around Miles’ shoulders, guiding him out of the crowd and towards the road that leads to our homes.
There’s supposed to be a night of celebration, but all I want to do is get back home and get myself settled. I want to toss my things in my cabin before going back to Miles’ place that he shares with his mate and his child. I want to sit on the couch together and catch up. I want to see if things have changed or if they’re exactly as I remember them.
“You don’t want to stay?”
“Can we just go back home? I want to hear about everything that’s happened while I was gone.”
Miles and Timalah share a look before Miles is nodding. “Okay, you can come back to ours. Maybe you can even stay the night. It’ll be like old times,” Miles says with a grin.
“I think I can manage to walk across the street at the end of the night,” I say with a snort. “Just because I’ve been gone a year doesn’t mean I’ve lost the ability to find my way back home.”
“Sure. Right. Of course,” Miles says with a chuckle that sounds completely out of character. I’m about to call him out on the weirdness when Timalah jumps in.
“Thank you for keeping an eye on Gendry while he was gone.”
“It wasn’t difficult. Though itwassurprising when he fell for Aldo. The first day they met, he was head over heels almost instantly. It would have been all kinds of adorable if it wasn’t so nauseatingly sweet.”
“There you are,” Miles says, chuckling to himself. “Still not sold on the whole love thing?”
My heart skips a beat as one face comes to mind. My lips are still tingling from the quick kiss I gave Ghenie. As happy as I am to be back with Miles, I can’t stop thinking about when I can slip away and try to find Ghenie again. I need to talk to him and the sooner I can do that, the better.
