AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I need one more recommendation,’ I tell Noah. ‘One more thing for the Melbourne experience.’
‘Hmm?’ he hums groggily.
‘I need to know thebestburger place in the city.’
Later that night, I fulfil my promise to myself and order the most obscene burger Melbourne has to offer; plus a side of fries. Victor and Papa decide to go out for dinner; a thinly veiled attempt to give us some space. Noah and I watchJurassic Parkon the hotel TV while we eat dinner. As the velociraptors burst into the kitchen, I loop my arm around Noah and feel him relax against me.
The last thing I think about before I fall asleep is the feeling of Noah’s warm breath on my shoulder, the brush of his fingers on my bare thigh, and how he still, very slightly, smells like apple cider.
38
Noah
There’s something special about waking up in Gabriel’s arms. I’d slept fitfully all night until he’d rolled over and, in his sleep, wrapped his arms around my middle. I’d drifted off into that warm, lazy kind of sleep where you wake up feeling the cosiest you’ve ever been—at least until your alarm blares on the bedside table.
Bernard and Victor’s flight to Dubai leaves at nine-fifteen. Ours, to wherever we’re going, leaves at ten-thirty. Even as we make our way to the airport, Gabriel refuses to tell me.
At the international terminal, we stack Gabriel’s luggage—all five large suitcases—onto a trolley.
Bernard steps towards me, his arms outstretched. For a second, I don’t know what’s happening, but then he pulls me against his chest. Hug. Bernard Madani is giving me a hug.
‘See you soon, Noah,’ he says. I feel his voice rumble against my cheek.
‘See you again soon, Mr Madani,’ I say, awkwardly looping my arms around the expanse of his back.
‘You can call me Bernard,’ he says. ‘We’re past formalities.’
‘You have seen me at my highest highs and my lowest lows,’ I concede. Bernard laughs, that stone face finally cracking.
Barely two weeks ago, I was terrified of Gabriel’s father. I saw so much of my own dad reflected in the stories that Gabriel told me: a man who controlled his life, who pressured and fought with him. Now, I look at Bernard and I understand they are nothing alike.
In a way I can’t really describe, Bernard feels like home.
Once they’ve gone through the departure gate, we get back into the van and take the short trip to the domestic terminal.
Gabriel checks us in at a self-service booth. The machine spits out our tickets. I lunge to grab them, but he blocks me, laughing. He directs me to wait near the security gates while he takes our suitcases to send them to wherever the hell we’re going.
‘You going to tell me now?’ I ask as we wait in line for security. We’ve both packed light. I take out my wallet and phone and place them in the trays.
‘No.’
As we stand in front of the departures board, I look over all the destinations to figure out which one could be ours.
Gabriel nudges me. ‘Come on, we have a bit of time before we board.’
‘Darwin?’ I ask as he walks away, excluding the flights departing in the next half an hour from my guesses. ‘Hobart? Alice Springs?!’
Gabriel and I walk through the food court, past the Victoria’s Secret shop, and into a large bookstore.
‘This is what you wanted, isn’t it?’ Gabriel asked. ‘It’s not a holiday unless you buy a book from the airport bookshop.’
Emotion swells, and I swallow it back down. ‘Yeah, I said that.’
Gabriel’s hand touches mine, just enough to bring me back to reality.
‘I need to go to the pharmacy. Meet you back here in ten minutes?’
I nod. It seems a bit personal to follow him into the chemist, plus he’s got all those nasty blisters on his hands and feet. I hang out in the bestseller section, trying to decide if I should get a novel or go non-fiction. Like a moth to a flame, I’m drawn to the shiny covers of the young adult section, with their wizards and queer romances and stories about teens fighting serial killers.
