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Mason gave both of our upper arms a gentle squeeze.
“Let's go home,” he said softly.
***
Roy moved as if in a trance. He followed me to the cab, barely acknowledging the Grants. I never let go of his hand, even though that meant awkwardly climbing into thebackseat after him. Snuggling closer, I laid my head on his chest, listening to the steady thrumming of heart.
You're going to be okay, I repeated over and over in my head.I've got you.
It was a sign of how hard meeting his ex-girlfriend had hit him when he didn't even try to pay for the cab, but stood by until I was finished and led him back upstairs to our flat.
Once behind the closed door of our safe haven, the shaking started up again. I let go of him briefly to slip out of my high heels and my blazer, and waited until he'd kicked off the trainers, then walked him into the living room.
Again he followed me without hesitation, but when I turned to face him, I saw that he was crying. Fat tears streaked dark tracks into his gorgeous fur, his shoulders shook, and he looked so lost that for a moment I couldn’t breathe.
“Sit. Please, baby.” I waited until he had done as I asked, then I straddled his lap and wrapped him in a tight embrace. He sank back into the pillows, pulling me on his chest and he wept for a very long time. There were no words to be said, no distractions needed. Roy had to work through his pain, and I held him while he did.
At long last his sobs subsided, the shaking stopped, and his breathing normalised. Still I hugged him tightly, draped over his chest like a weighted blanket. I'd thought long and hard about what I wanted him to know when he was able to hear me again.
“She'swrong. You are beautiful, inside and out. Nothing she said today held any truth about the kind of person you are, Roy Sinclair.” He started to speak, but I stopped him with a finger pressed to his lips. “I am so fucking glad you got out. You are so brave, baby.” His cheek tasted salty when I brushed a kiss over his wet fur. “I—” Catching myself just in time, I kissed him again.
Keep your trap shut, Kat.
Roy needed a friend, and some rebound sex. I could do that for him. There was no need to overcomplicate the mess by blurting out my stupid feelings.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kat
The entire weekend, Roy either slept or joined me on the couch for a movie and some cuddling, keeping things entirely in the friend zone. Perhaps the run in with Abbie had made him see clearly about us, or maybe he'd realised that he didn't want to fool around with me anymore. As much as I missed his kisses, and the sting of his barbs or the rasp of his tongue, I didn't initiate anything either.
Friends. We were friends. Roomies.
When I got up on Monday morning, he had already left for the gym. The twinge of sadness that I wouldn’t get to see him before he started his day dissolved as I stood by the window looking out over the quiet neighbourhood with a freshly brewed coffee cradled in my hands.
Good for him.
He needed to find his own rhythm, without that waste of space of an ex-girlfriend abusing him every chance she got.
I dressed for work, then hopped in the car. Having breakfast at home without Roy didn't sound appealing, so off to the Hut I went. My usual table by the window was free. Knowing that Lo wouldn't pop in a few minutes after me, cheeks flushed from riding her bike to work and brimming with the post-exercise dopamine rush, made me strangely sad.
Pulling out my phone, I opened the camera and snapped a photo of the empty armchair opposite me.
Kat: Miss your face. How are you?
Three dots appeared almost immediately—I knew she'd be up already.
Lo: Miss you, too, babes! I'm a hundred months pregnant, Kat. I feel like a beached whale, and I cried yesterday because I can't see my feet anymore. It's fun, this is fun.
I loved her sense of humour.
Kat: If a pregnant woman can't see her feet anymore, are they still there?
Lo: I hate you. And Benji. He laughed at me.
Kat: We both love you, and little bumpy, too!
Lo: Kaden. We have finally agreed on a name. And I love you.
