18
Eventually, we showered and got ready for bed. Leo stayed the night, though it took us more than an hour to fall asleep. We kept talking, or playing with each other’s hands, or kissing.
The following morning, I was aware that Leo was with me before I opened my eyes. I felt his heavy presence at my side, weighing against an elbow, and the rhythmic sound of his breathing. When I finally cracked my eyes open, he looked, well, gorgeous. His hair was messy, and lines marked his cheek where the pillow had pressed against his skin, but he was beautiful to me, and the sight of him flooded me with a kind of joy I’d never gotten from anything else.
I reached over him to peel the edge of the blind back. Outside, the sun was only beginning to rise, and the streets below were mostly empty. I lay back down and tried to fall back asleep, but it was impossible. Energy and excitement surged through my body like I was a kid on Christmas morning.
Leo’s lashes fluttered open, and he gave me a sleepy smile.
“Morning,” he murmured.
“Morning.”
Before I could stop him, he pressed a kiss on my mouth, then kissed me several more times before I managed to push him away.
“Let me brush my teeth first," I said. I began to roll out of bed, but Leo pulled me back before I could get my feet on the floor.
“No,” he whined. “You're my personal hot water bottle. If you leave, I'll be cold."
“I can turn the heater on,” I pointed out.
"Yes," Leo said dryly. “That’s the whole point of what I was saying.”
I tried to suppress a laugh and failed and lay down again. Once again, Leo pressed a kiss to my lips, and he seemed genuinely unbothered. Maybe my morning breath wasn’t as bad as I thought, or perhaps he liked me so much that he barely noticed it.
We kissed lazily for a while until Leo pulled away to yawn, his mouth stretching wide like a lion. “Gosh, I need some coffee.”
“I still don't have instant coffee.”
He checked his phone. “It's still early, only seven-thirty. We could go down the street and grab coffee and breakfast if you want?”
“Yeah, that sounds great,” I said. On any other day, I would have stayed in bed for as long as possible, most likely wasting time on my phone, scrolling social media. But half an hour later, I was walking down the street, my hand intertwined with Leo’s.
8 o'clock didn’t sound particularly early, but it was early in Melbourne, even on a weekday. The trams were going, filled with high school students and people commuting to work, but the streets were comparatively empty. We went down an alleyway to a tiny cafe, and there were only a few other people inside, most of which were dressed in office attire, grabbing coffees to go. We took a table in the corner and ordered a drink each — I got a matcha latte, of course, and Leo got a cappuccino. We also ordered a toastie each, which was not only the most appetising thing on the menu but also the cheapest.
“So,” I said once we were halfway through our meal. “Just to clarify — just to be completely sure — you’re my boyfriend now, right?”
“Yes,” Leo said. “If you still want me to be.” The corner of his mouth curled up. “I don’t just borrow a friend’s dog for the hell of it.”
“I want to be exclusive,” I said.
“I want that too.”
“And,” I continued, “I don’t want to hide.” I smiled to soften my words. “I want to show off to the world that I pulled someone like you.”
He blushed before his expression turned serious. “I don’t want this to be a secret either. I’ll tell my friends.”
Something in his voice made me tilt my head. “Are you afraid? I know it’s not the easiest thing to do.”
He shook his head. “They’re not bad people. They’ll probably tease me a bit, but nothing mean-spirited. It's just, you know, they've heard me go on and on and on about how relationships aren't for me, so I think they'll find it pretty amusing how meeting you changed my mind.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I’m guessing you’re going to tell your friends.”
“Hell yeah. It might be a little embarrassing though,” I admitted, “especially because Rome — he’s one of my friends — and Atticus listened to me vent for the past few weeks.”
Leo grimaced. “They must think I’m terrible.”
“They won’t,” I reassured him.
“I don’t want them to think I don’t deserve you. And I want to stay friends with Atticus. I want to be friends with all your friends.”
I smiled despite myself, imagining Leo meeting Rome. Leo was talkative and positive, and while I loved Rome, he could be incredibly pessimistic and grumpy. It would be entertaining to watch.
“It’s fine, Leo. I promise. You’re a good person. I wouldn’t be with you if you weren’t.” I leaned back in my chair. “I’m going to have to tell my parents too. Unfortunately, you’re not Korean, but fortunately, you do study Architecture, which they’ll find impressive.”
Leo didn’t look very reassured.
“It’ll be fine,” I added. “I doubt they’ll care that much, as long as I’m not distracted from university.”
“My parents probably won’t care much at all,” he said. “Which I suppose is a good thing. It means coming out won’t be a whole big drama.”
I reached out to squeeze his hand. “Are you going back to Sydney for the winter holidays?”
“My parents have discussed it, but honestly” — he squeezed my hand back — “I’d rather stay in Melbourne.”
“You could come with me to visit my family if you wanted,” I said. “Do you like Korean food?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had it,” he said. “I’m not good with spicy food, though. Remember hot pot?”
“That’s okay. Not all of it is spicy. You should come,” I said at the unsure look on Leo’s face. “You can tell my Mum and Dad that I study super hard. They always cook a heap of food, and I know you have a big appetite.”
“Well, like I always say.” He patted his chest. “I need to eat a lot to maintain this.”
I grinned. “It’ll be perfect. Seriously, come if you want.”
Leo nodded. “Alright,” he said, a smile spreading his lips. “I’ll think about it.”
When I walked into Intro to B Law, Rome took one look at me before giving me an exasperated look. “He’s your boyfriend now, isn’t he?”
I quickly smothered my smile. “How did you know?” I asked as I took the seat beside him.
“Last week, you were walking around like you had a rain cloud over your head, and today, you’re practically skipping. Also, I know that despite how much you like him, you’re not an idiot. You wouldn’t take him back unless he was your actual boyfriend.”
“He is,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too smug. I recounted the whole story, setting the scene by telling him about my dreary day at home, trying to force myself to finish an assignment. Then I told him about the phone call, Pippa at Flagstaff Gardens, then dinner, then our talk at my apartment.
“Wow,” Rome said after I finished the story. “Honestly, that's kind of romantic. Most of the time, all that romance stuff is so sickening and gross, but maybe it’s different because you’re my friend. I'm happy for you.”
“Thanks,” I said.
I was thinking about wrapping him in a hug when the door burst open, and our tutor stormed in with a large cup of coffee.
“All right, peeps,” she said, “we're going to be discussing the remedies of a breach of contract, so let's talk about damages.”
And even flipping through the most boring textbook on planet Earth couldn't dampen my mood.
Later that afternoon, I went to Professors Lane Cafe to pick up my usual matcha latte. I’d already made plans to meet Atticus, and we sat at a table, making the most of the heated cafe because outside, it was chilly with winter approaching.
“I knew he wasn't a knobhead,” Atticus said, “which I know sounds easy for me to say now that you’re together, but I mean it.”
“Knobhead,” I echoed with a grin.
Something flickered over his face.
"What is it?" I asked.
“Nothing,” he said. Then, “I'd be lying if I wasn't a little bit envious — not of you or of Leo specifically — but it’d be nice to have a relationship. At this rate, I might end up marrying Elena.”
I paused. “Are you — you and Elena —”
“Oh, no,” he interrupted, shaking his head, eyes widened. “I’m a hundred percent only into men. But we did make a pact that if we’re thirty-five and single, we’ll get married, and make a test tube baby. We’re too intelligent not to pass our genes on for the good of humanity.”
I stared for a long moment until he cracked a smile, which made me roll my eyes and slap his arm.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
I nodded, preparing myself because that question was never not ominous.
“Elena didn’t say anything to scare you off, did she?”
“What? No.”
Atticus looked at his lap. “Sometimes, she’s overprotective. It’s not without reason. She’s…” his voice became quieter. “She’s seen me hurt before.” His eyes met mine. “I want to know for the next boy I go on a date with.”
“She did interrogate me a little,” I admitted. “But…if someone really likes you, I don’t think it would scare them off. Also, I learned pretty quickly that Elena is, well, Elena.”
Atticus smiled. “Well, in any case, this gives me hope. You and Leo found each other in the most accidental way possible, so it’s possible I won’t be forever alone.”
“Atticus, you literally look like a movie star. I guarantee you’ll find someone.”
He blushed faintly. “I hope so.”
A week later, on the way back from university, I stopped by the supermarket and wandered down the aisle dedicated to breakfast stuff: cereal, porridge, tea and coffee. I compared the jars of instant coffee — there was medium and dark roast, different flavours like caramel or chocolate, several different brands and different price points. In the end, I chose a medium-sized jar with a gold label — the same brand my parents had at home.
We'd made plans to hang out at his place, and after I arrived at his building and hit the intercom, he let me up. “I have a surprise for you,” I said, after he opened the door. I stepped inside and pulled the jar from my bag. “I’ll keep it at my place, so you won’t suffer caffeine withdrawals every time you visit. Is this brand alright?” Leo had a coffee machine that used pods, but hopefully, instant coffee granules would be an acceptable substitute.
Leo laughed, taking the jar to read the label. “It’s perfect,” he said, passing it back to me. “I have a surprise for you, too.”
He led me into his studio and to the kitchenette. From one of the cupboards that sat above the sink, he pulled out a box of instant matcha.
“I figured I should have a beverage available that isn't coffee for when you visit.”
I was smiling so much my cheeks hurt. “Well, you know what they say. Great minds.”
Since we’d started dating, we’d left a spare toothbrush at each other’s place since washing our mouth out with toothpaste every time we visited wasn’t good for our dental health in the long run. Leo had also decided that he would go with me to visit my parents over the holidays, and we started making plans, even though the winter break was still a while to go, and we had to get over the hurdle of exam season first.
Leo shook the box. “Do you want me to make you one?”
I shook my head. “I already had one at uni earlier, and unlike you, I don’t need seventeen shots of caffeine a day.”
“All right,” Leo said, putting the box back in the cupboard. “What do you want to do?”
“Play Minecraft?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Is that a euphemism, or…”
“I guess we'll have to find out.”
We actually played Minecraft, continuing to build our mansion, and I decided to make a hedge maze in the garden while Leo built a balcony that overlooked a lake.
I was just working on another dead end in my hedge maze when Leo shifted closer to me.
“You have nice hands,” he said.
I burst out laughing, and Leo grinned.
“If you just want to do something, just say it,” I said.
“I do want to do something,” he said, “but I also like your hands.”
“Alright,” I said, then told him to take his shirt off.