I ran a few stands through my fingers. I never wore it down in Leeds. It was something Jason could easily grab onto. It was always up, tied out of the way.
“I have it down all the time now.”
“I’m glad. You deserve to do what you want to, without having to worry about the consequences.”
I squeezed his hand, smiling. “Thank you.”
“Anything for my favourite girl.”
“Stop messing. You remember when we used to play battleships, and you always cheated?”
“In my defence, you always chose the same spaces.”
“No, you used to peer over to see where I hid them. You cheated all the time,” I laughed.
“I wouldn’t call it cheating. Being tall gave me an advantage, even if we were sitting down.”
“Yes. Cheating.”
I’d missed his company more than I’d realised. We used to do a lot together in the house when Jason wasn’t around, even silly board games to keep me entertained. It was the normality I had with Callum that kept me going. Without him, I don’t think I would have survived all that time.
He did everything he could for me in Leeds, and I would never forget it. He was the one who called the police on Jason that night, when he attacked me with the knife. They would have killed him for snitching on his own brother if they’d known. I’d never told a soul. It was something we kept to ourselves.
The waiter brought our food out with a side of mayonnaise. I loved dipping my pizza in it, and Callum had never forgotten it. The BBQ base hit my nose first, making my mouth water, then the bacon, chicken, and onions soon followed. I couldn’t wait to tuck in. I’d been feeling so hungry today, no matter what I ate. I was always like this before my period. Callum also had his usual—pepperoni. Guess some things never changed.
“I think we should make a deal.”
My eyes wandered over him as I picked up a slice. “Oh yeah?” I took a bite. “What’s that?”
“I’ll give you this bit”—he pointed to a slice of his pizza—“if you give me that bit.” He then pointed to mine.
“You do this all the time. Next time, order the same as me.”
“I can’t. I feel like I’m betraying my favourite. Besides, it’s only ever one slice I want of BBQ. I couldn’t eat the whole thing.”
I took another sip of wine, shaking my head. “Fine, but no more.”
“I promise.”
He swapped a slice over from each plate, and then he started eating the pepperoni. He always saved the BBQ one till last. Never knew why, when he always wanted a bit.
We sat there for a moment, enjoying the pizza and being in each other’s company.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked.
“Anything.”
“Are you happy? With Sebastian?”
I swallowed the pizza down hard and took a sip of my drink to help. I had been, but lately, I was questioning that.
I hesitated for a moment.
“You know you can trust me. You can tell me anything.”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I confessed.
My heart fell into my stomach, hearing it aloud. It was only ever a passing thought. Nothing set in stone until now.
