Page 51 of Night and Day
She cast one last glance over her shoulder and they hurried down a path along the river, surrounded by a medley of exotic plants flowering in white, purple and blue. The beauty of the gardens lifted her mood, chasing away the dark images. Deke felt like a breath of fresh air – a friend who she could be herself with. She needed a break from the feelings that stirred up around Izzy. Yet, she felt like something was missing, her hands involuntarily brushing her pockets. It wasn’t just the lack of her old possessions, but an odd sense of emptiness that had followed her since leaving the house. Was it Izzy? Was she missing him?
They walked past a children’s playground, complete with a carnival-themed stage, and continued over an arched stone bridge. Wisteria hung above their heads, filling her nostrils with its syrupy scent.
“It’s so beautiful!” She sighed.
Deke gave her a funny look. “We’re not there yet.”
He led her past a pond, down some steps and through a narrow gate. “This is where it starts. Chinese, Japanese, Indian, American? You choose.”
Mia shrugged, wandering towards the Japanese garden. The tidy order of the manicured hedges and raked sand soothed her nerves. The pond view that opened up on the other side of a pavilion was made for meditation. “This is so... calming.” She took a deep breath, sitting on a bench. They were alone, surrounded by birdsong. The only thing she saw moving was one of the rocks... No, wait. “Is that a turtle?”
“Yeah,” Deke said, sitting next to her. “They’re my favourite. After African Greys, and teacup pigs, I think. They don’t talk, so...”
Mia nodded. “Yeah, Casanova is unbeatable.”
Deke beamed. “He’s pretty special. Some people don’t get it.”
“You mean Izzy?”
He shook his head. “No. He acts grumpy, but he loves Casanova and looks after him all the time. He looks after me, too.” His face shone with acceptance. “Izzy is my best friend.”
They sat in silence, watching the turtle slowly slide off the rock, into the water. As Deke spoke again, in a clipped tone. “You don’t live here. You’re going back to Finland, right?”
He turned to stare at Mia and she bit back the soothing lies. Deke deserved the truth. “I have to go back. My sister is having a baby.”
“But, you’re coming back, right? You’re coming back for Izzy?”
Mia tried to smile. “We’ve only just met. It’s not like that—”
Deke frowned, staring out over the pond. “You said you’d be straight with me.”
Mia swallowed a lump. She couldn’t start deflecting with this guy. He wouldn’t be able to read between the lines, and she could tell how much he cared about Izzy. Could she trust him with the truth? “You’re right. If I’m completely honest, I really like him. The thought of going away and never seeing him again is... I try not to think about it, that’s how much I hate it. But I don’t know if we have a future.”
Deke gave her a long, hard look. “I know I’m not great at reading all that stuff, but Izzy looks at you like he looks at the computer when he’s working on that film... like he’s seeing something nobody else can see. I’ve never seen him look at a woman like that.”
“Not even Erin?” Mia asked, sucking in her lips. She had to stop fishing. This only made things harder, and her heart already fluttered in confusion.
“No. He never looked at her like that. They argued a lot. Izzy was louder back then. We all worked together. I love that about filmmaking. You know exactly what’s expected of you and if everyone does their part, it comes together.”
“I can’t believe Izzy’s doing all that work by himself. It looked incredible.”
Deke bounced on his feet, throwing his hands out. “I know! If I had talent like that, I’d be shouting about it to the world. He keeps everything hidden in that basement. And I’m the weird one!” He collapsed back on the bench, hanging his head. “I audition for anything out there. I volunteer. I show up. And I keep asking women out. I thought I was doing the right thing, putting myself out there. If you don’t even try, how can you get anything? But maybe I was wrong. I should just hide in the basement and the universe will drop a beautiful woman in my lap.”
An uncomfortable laugh erupted from Mia’s chest and she gripped the edge of the bench. “I don’t think it’s that simple. This all feels like a dream to me. Izzy is...”Magnetic? Arresting? Unsettling?She couldn’t utter any of those words in public. “He’s so passionate,” she finally said. “But being dropped into someone’s lap isn’t a solid foundation for a relationship, is it? We’re not even dating—” Mia clamped her lips, wishing she could suck the words back in. They’d been playing a couple in front of Deke. As much as she wanted to be honest with him, she couldn’t do this.
“What?” A frown deepened on Deke’s forehead as he sunk his fingers into his cloud of orange hair. “But, you guys are together, right? He’s so possessive he threatened me with violence if I tried anything with you.”
Mia ran her teeth across her lower lip, stifling a smile. She shouldn’t have liked this side of Izzy, but the thought of him telling Deke to keep his distance thrilled her more than she wanted to admit. Not that she condoned violence, ever. She nodded. “Yeah, we’re together. We’re just trying to figure it out.”
Somehow, it didn’t feel like lying. The performance they’d given to his family had clearly messed with her head.
Deke dropped his shoulders, rewarding her with a relieved smile. “He planned something for you tomorrow, and I’m not supposed to tell you, but it’s good. You’ll like it. Just promise me one thing?”
“What?”
“Don’t hurt him. He’s... more fragile than he looks.”
Mia’s stomach lurched, but she returned his smile. “I won’t.” She really hoped she wasn’t lying this time.
