AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Quint’s brain thrust into overdrive as he regrouped, heading out of the Wrap’d building, towards the underground station. He cleared his brain fog, remembering that Leo mentioned catching a bus, thus deducing that he would have made his way to the bus stop on Mimosa Street. Or would he have headed back to the Broadway? Leo was obviously from out of town, so maybe he would have headed for the more populated and central area of Fulham to figure out his route.
Of course, Regent’s Park covered a vast area, so it would be like looking for a dropped lemon seed in a salad.
Now that he had a clear image of what Leo looked like, he could visualise them together properly. He was nothing like he imagined, now shorter than Quint, whereas before Leo was endowed with the taller height of the two.
Leo had a boyish charm about him now, a charm that Quint had missed in their previous lives due to them meeting at such a late stage in life before. The mannerisms were so familiar, though. The way he brushed his dark blonde hair aside to reveal more of his face made Quint feel like he was home, even though the silver hair from his previous life probably wouldn’t grow in for years to come. But it was there: something emitting from Leo’s skin cried this washisLeo.
Harry knew what he was doing with the home he’d given Quint, handing over what was essentially a tool for manifestation, so that he could train his brain into attracting Leo back into his life. It seemed that it had worked much quicker than either of them could have imagined. Quint’s faith was restored. Every doubt he had that they wouldn’t find each other in this lifetime had been banished.
Minutes behind Leo, he trusted his instinct, and it was telling him to head up to Fulham Broadway and check the bus stops near the underground station.
Quint hurriedly picked up his pace, being careful not to lose his calm and start to worry, as that would throw his instinct off for sure. Even as he was held up at a pedestrian crossing, he had to believe that the delay was happening for a very good reason.
As the light turned green, he heard someone call out from the coffee shop on the corner behind him.
“Hey. Clint, right?”
Leo. Quint didn’t care he’d mispronounced his name. That was Leo back there… again.
He went over. “Quint, actually. But yeah. Leo?”
He got a smile, a nod, although it didn’t seem so ill at ease anymore. “Thought you had a meeting with the big boss?”
Quint’s thoughts were still muddled and he tried to rewind to when they had met back at Wrap’d. “Huh? Oh, yeah. He had to reschedule. Will’s a busy man. It wasn’t important, anyway. I used to work there, you see. I only popped in to pick up some stuff. My laptop.”
Leo looked Quint up and down, focussing in on his tiny man bag. “I think you might have forgotten it,” he said, smiling.
“Regent’s Park,” barked out Quint, looking at the ground.
“What?”
“You said you were going to Regent’s Park?” Quint flicked a look back up to Leo. Leo’s scent drifted over his senses: he couldn’t even pin it down, he just felt so calm around it. And in that look of Leo, there seemed to be an electricity hidden in it that Quint felt brush his own skin. The feel of a Reboot who needed a fresh start but who wouldn’t mind being found. Quint willed with all his might some kind of recognition from him, but the wall he hit was rock hard.
“Oh, yeah,” said Leo. “I was just on my way. Thought I’d take the scenic route.”
“I had the same idea. I mean about taking a walk in the park. Haven’t got much else on,” said Quint, patting his man bag. “Not to Regent’s Park. Just… anywhere, really.” He inwardly cringed at himself as more words tumbled in his head.
“Well, if you’re not doing ’owt and fancy a stroll round the park, I could use a good tour guide. I’m not from round these parts, see,” said Leo, putting on a West Country accent for the last sentence.
Quint practically bit his hand off and started to walk with Leo towards the underground station.
The quickest way Quint knew to get there would be to take the District Line to Edgware Road first, and it was a more pleasant journey as it was mostly above ground. Quint wagered that the quicker they arrived at the park, the more time they would have to stroll in the sunshine.
Leo seemed happy to go with Quint’s advice, sealing the deal with an enthusiastic high ten as Quint led the way into the subway.
As they alighted from the train at Edgware Road, Quint led the way as they walked in the sunshine towards Baker Street before heading towards Great Portland Street. He led Leo across the road and headed into the park.
It wasn’t exactly sunbathing weather, so the park wasn’t heaving with people, but there were a few that peppered the vast expanse, some throwing large sticks for their dogs, others reading books on benches or admiring the gardens. Quint loved to watch people enjoying themselves in places of such beauty. Even as they wandered into winter, the colours of the park still brightened his mood. The brown leaves gently tumbling over the glacial tips of the frosted grass reminded him of the winters of Vondiv’d. He just wished he could relive that memory again with Leo.
“It’s pretty stunning here, eh?” said Leo. “You’re lucky you’ve got all this on your doorstep.”
“You say that, but I hardly get the time to appreciate all of this. I know I should, but life just gets in the way. Maybe now I’ve got more time on my hands, I can spend more time in places like this.”
“So, what did you do at Wrap’d?”
“Senior talent producer, now ex.” Quint explained things had come to an end because he didn’t like the way the business was heading: money taking precedence ahead of talent. Leo stopped walking and gave him side-eye.
“Hold up, what’s your surname?” he asked.
