Chapter 12 #2
“Yes,” he said. “If you wanted to discuss the art over breakfast.”
She shook her head and took a long, slow sip of coffee.
The idea of seeing art virtually made her feel sad.
It would be like listening to a symphony through a phone: you’d get the gist, maybe even enjoy it, but it wasn’t how the music was supposed to be heard.
“No, it’s okay. We’ll go another time,” she said quietly.
Colin Layton and Rocco Falconi came over to sit down at the end of their table. Of everyone at the reunion, these two might have been the last people Chloe wanted to have breakfast with, but she gave them both a polite smile.
“Hey, Chloe,” Colin said, shooting her with a finger gun. He had slicked-back blond hair and was wearing a pink Ralph Lauren polo with the collar up. Rocco was sporting a mullet, heavily texturized on the top, so it stood almost vertical.
“Dude, your dancing last night absolutely slapped!” Rocco said, turning to Rob and holding out a fist for a fist bump. Rob, apparently unfamiliar with the gesture, put his whole hand around Rob’s fist and gave it a firm push, almost dislodging Rocco from the bench.
“Whoa there, muscles!” Rocco said, rubbing his shoulder.
“He was just trying to do a fist bump,” Chloe quickly explained to Rob, eyes wide.
“Oh, I thought he was trying to hit me in slow motion,” Rob said. “My apologies.”
Luckily Rocco and Colin laughed, as though Rob had made a great joke.
“So, Chloe, where you living now? In town?” Rocco asked.
“Yes, I’m in London.”
“You guys live together?” Colin asked, moving a cereal spoon back and forth in the air between them.
“No,” she said, picking up her coffee and taking another long, slow sip.
“Still house sharing?” Rocco asked. “You need to get on the housing ladder, even if you start small. Renting is a huge waste of money.”
“I actually live at home,” she said.
“What, like home-home?” Colin snorted. “Do you have a curfew? Are you allowed to have boys over?”
“What are you talking about, Col, I would love to still live at home,” Rocco said. “All that pocket money, getting tucked in every night, packed lunches.” He let out a cackle.
Chloe rolled her eyes at their teasing.
“Given the current housing crisis and inflated rental market, a multigenerational household makes sound financial sense,” Rob said.
Chloe cringed. Sometimes, when it came to humor, Rob managed to misjudge the tone of a conversation.
He was better when it was just the two of them, but something about a group dynamic seemed harder for him to compute.
Rocco and Colin both turned to look at Rob. “All right, mate. Where did you graduate from then, the University of Stating the Obvious?” Rocco asked.
“No, I did not go there,” Rob said, shooting him a smile. This didn’t feel like the right response, given they were teasing him. Chloe put her cup down and looked Colin square in the eyes.
“Look, I love living with my parents, I’m not embarrassed and I’m saving money.
” Then she turned to Rocco. “And yes, sometimes my mum does still make me a packed lunch. She’s an amazing cook, and it’s healthier than buying a store-bought sandwich every day.
” She paused, looking back and forth between them.
“And, glad as I am that Rick Astley’s stylist is no longer out of work, if you boys are coming punting, do try not to fall in.
I think the combined product in your hair might wipe out the river’s ecosystem. ”
A flicker of laughter came from the next table and Chloe turned to see John sitting with his friend Freya.
He quickly looked away, pretending to stir his tea with a serious expression, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Rocco frowned, and Colin ran a self-conscious hand over his perfectly shellacked hair.
Chloe felt a small flicker of victory. Maybe having her life judged wasn’t so bad, just so long as it was to her face and she had the right quip ready.
“Right, we’ll see you boys on the river,” she said, as she finished her breakfast and got up to go.
As they left, Rob held out a fist toward Rocco, his attempt at a fist bump, but he misjudged it, thrusting his fist too close to Rocco’s face, which caused Rocco to lurch back, toppling off the bench and onto the floor.
“All right, psycho!” Rocco cried. “He tried to hit me!”
“My apologies, I was attempting a fist bump,” Rob said, reaching out a hand to help Rocco up.
“He struggles with spatial awareness sometimes,” Chloe muttered, conscious that people at the other tables were staring at them now.
“You got a chip missing or something, mate?” Colin asked, standing and squaring up to Rob.
“Not that I’m aware,” Rob said earnestly.
This conversation was not going anywhere good.
Chloe quickly pulled on Rob’s arm, signaling they should leave, but as she turned, her eyes fell back on John at the next table.
He was watching this play out with his brow furrowed, eyes narrowed.
But while everyone else’s attention was on Rob or Rocco, his gaze was locked on Chloe.