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Tristan didn’t move to unbuckle his seatbelt, just continued staring at the downpour in dismay. “You can’t be serious. This isnotbarbecue weather.”
I clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a grin. “We’re British, there’s no such thing.”
“My shoes will get wet.”
I rolled my eyes at him, knowing where this was coming from. “You don’t have to come, Tris. I can take you back to my place, and you can chill there.”
He took a deep breath before letting it out in a whoosh. “No. It’s okay. I can do this.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” He bit his lip. “I can’t let my anxiety keep getting in my way. Besides, what’s the point in me coming all this way and then letting you face Silas alone.”
My stomach churned at the thought of seeing him. Four months. Sixteen weeks.
Part of me wanted to run and hide. He was bound to be mad at me for ghosting him, and rightly so.
But a much larger part of me was burning to get inside. To see his dimples. His chipped tooth that he had never bothered to fix. To hold him close and breathe in the liquorice scent of the soap he liked to use.
Tristan slid his hand into mine, his touch reminding me why I shouldn’t do that. Why I couldn’t go back there.
Fortunately, Luca’s house had a porch. We ducked under it, keen to get out of the rain.
Luca was the one to answer the door. Feet bare and a beer in hand, he looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen him. I knew without asking that it was the Ollie effect.
Being in love suited Luca.
His welcoming smile slipped when he spotted Tristan beside me. “Ah, Kai. You didn’t mention you were bringing a guest.”
“Is that going to be a problem?”
Luca pulled his grin back into place, but that was the beauty of having a friendship that spanned decades. It was easy to spot the bullshit. “Not at all. The more the merrier.”
“It’s great to meet you,” Tristan stepped forward, holding a hand out to Luca. “I’ve heard so much about you all.”
“Well, we’ve heard nothing about you,” Arlo drawled as he eased around Luca.
What had got his goat? I shot Arlo a warning look. For some reason, this just seemed to piss off our drummer even more. “Bit strange really. Kai’s never brought a serious boyfriend around before.”
“First time for everything,” I said between gritted teeth. “Now, are you going to let us in? Or are you going to continue behaving like pricks and making Tristan feel unwelcome?”
Both Luca and Arlo looked chastised. Luca stepped forward and shook Tristan’s hand warmly. “Sorry, Tristan. Please, do come in. Ollie seems to have cooked enough to feed the five thousand, so I hope you’ve brought your appetite.”
Arlo and Luca stepped back, letting us into the vast area that Luca tried to insist was ahallway.
It was a lobby. Last time I’d checked, a hallway didn’t have room for one sofa, let alone the two that filled this space.
“What’s taking you so long? Ollie wants to kno—” Silas stepped out of the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. “Kai. You’re here.”
My eyes gobbled up every minute change since the last time I’d seen him. His hair was shorter than it had been at the end of the tour and more immaculately styled than he usually bothered with for this type of hangout. He was clean-shaven too. That was unusual. Normally, I had to badger him to pick up his razor before we went to family events. He’d even tried to get away with a five o’clock shadow for my sister Mia’s wedding…despite the fact he was a groomsman.
The outfit I recognised. It was a shirt I’d bought him for Christmas. I’d told him I’d picked it because of the material. Silas was a sucker for a super soft shirt.
And that had been part of it. But I’d mainly picked it as it was the exact same shade as his royal blue eyes.
It wasn’t surprising to see him wearing it here. I swear, he’d wear it on stage if he thought he could get away with it.
No, what was surprising was the way he was looking at me.
