Chapter 19 Jimmy
JIMMY
With a bit of negotiation and juggling, Flynn and I have the same days off each week.
I was able to take Wednesday off, but not Saturday, since it’s the busiest day at the gym.
Flynn talked to Tony about moving his second day off to Sunday.
I don’t think Tony cares which days off Flynn has, so it wasn’t a lengthy conversation.
It’s Wednesday, and we’re spending the day looking at flats.
“I got all the info through for my graduation,” I say, as I drive us from a flat that we took one look at and walked out of, to the next one on our schedule. “I can only invite two people to the ceremony.”
I got my results last Friday. A 2:2, which I’m happy with.
Not that I can see myself doing much with it.
I’m enjoying my job at the gym, which I figure is more important than chasing a higher salary doing something less fun.
The gym members make it enjoyable. Everyone is different, with their own reasons for hiring a personal trainer.
I also do induction sessions for new members, tours of the gym for prospective members, and a twice-weekly step class.
“That’s standard,” Flynn says.
“I didn’t realise.”
“You should invite your parents.”
“I think they’d kill me if I didn’t.”
Flynn chuckles. “Yes.”
I glance at him. “But that means you can’t come.”
He puts his hand on my thigh. “That’s okay.”
“Really?”
He smiles. “Yes. Do you want to know a secret?”
“What?”
“Graduation ceremonies are kind of boring.”
“Oh, so you wouldn’t have wanted to come?” I tease.
He shrugs. “I’d have suffered through it for you.”
I laugh. “It’s a good thing I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We’ve said those words so much since that first time. They trip off my tongue and warm my heart whenever Flynn says it in return.
“They’ll want to take me out for a meal afterwards.” I tap the steering wheel. “I was thinking it would be a good time to introduce them to my boyfriend.”
Flynn stays silent.
“Bad idea?”
“We have to tell them sooner or later,” he says.
“Too soon?”
“No.” He sounds hesitant.
“They already love you, Flynn.”
“Maybe, in the past. But a lot’s happened. And you and I hooking up won't have been on their bingo card.”
“They’ll accept us being together.” I sound confident—don’t I?—but I'm not.
The truth is, I have no idea how my parents will react.
What did Billy tell our parents about why he and Flynn broke up?
I would have known if I hadn't become distant from him, and to a certain extent, them.
The trouble is, Billy can be manipulative.
What if our parents don't realise that? He’s their golden boy. Always has been.
“You should come to dinner with us after the ceremony,” I say. “If you want to.” I turn the car into a carpark belonging to a block of flats and circle, looking for a space.
“Okay.”
There are no spaces, so I return to the road and park there. “You don’t sound sure.”
“I’m not, but it’s like pulling a plaster off. The faster you do it, the less painful it is.”
“I’m not sure I like that analogy.”
He chuckles. “Sorry. Do you want a farming one instead?”
I thread my fingers through his. “No. You’re all right. I understand what you meant. They’ll accept you.”
“You keep saying that, but what if they don’t? What if they see it as us both betraying Billy?”
I shrug. “Then I’ll still choose you. I’ll always choose you, Flynn.”
“Over your parents? I can’t ask you to do that.”
I stare into his eyes. “You’re not asking. I mean it. I love you. I choose you.”
His chin quivers. “I love you, too.”
“Now that’s settled, shall we go look at apartment number three-hundred?”
Flynn laughs. “We haven’t looked at that many.”
“Yes, we have, and they’ve all been so… pokey.” I sigh. “I guess that’s all my budget will stretch to, though.”
“This place will be different.”
“Fingers crossed. Give me two secs.”
I send Mum a text, inviting her and Dad to my graduation ceremony, along with the date and time. I put my phone away, and we get out of the car. I skim the double-sided information sheet from the estate agent.
“It says it comes with a designated parking space, but there’s no visitor parking,” I say.
“At least you’ll always get parked, and there’s plenty of room on the road.”
“Yeah, and it’s a quiet road, so less chance of anyone knocking a wing mirror off on their way past.”
“Are you trying to talk me out of visiting you if you live here?”
“No.” I pretend to zip my mouth shut, prompting Flynn to laugh.
The estate agent is already in the foyer, ready to buzz us in.
It’s the same woman who’s shown us around a dozen other flats.
She must be sick of the sight of us. I haven’t shown much—if any—interest in the others.
They looked great on the info sheets, but the pictures must have been taken from clever angles to make the rooms look bigger.
Fair enough, I don’t need much space, and anything is a step up from a room in a student house, but I’d like enough room to grow into.
If things stay good between Flynn and me—and I hope they do—I’ll want to ask him to move in with me.
We take the lift to the third floor. The flat we’re looking at is at the far end of the corridor, in the corner.
“I think you’ll like this one.” The agent unlocks the door and lets us in. “Because it’s a corner flat, it’s got more windows, which means more light.”
More light is good. Bigger rooms would be better.
We enter a hallway with two doors on the left wall, one on the right, and one straight ahead.
“Closet and boiler.” The agent opens the first door.
There’s space to hang coats, fit a shoe rack, and an upright vacuum cleaner, but that’s about it.
“Bathroom.” She opens the door on the right.
“This is nice,” Flynn says.
He’s right, it is. The bathroom looks recently done up, with modern tiles and chrome taps. It has a bath and a shower cubicle, and room to move.
The second door on the left is the bedroom, bigger than most I’ve seen, though not massive.
“That looks like a king-size bed,” Flynn notes. “And it’s still not cramped in here.”
“The built-in wardrobes help.” The agent opens them, showing us inside.
It’s weird looking at the current owner’s clothes, but it’s good to see that hanging and drawer space is hiding behind the sliding doors.
The door at the end of the hallway leads to the living room, which occupies the corner space and has windows on two sides.
It’s a big room, with tons of light. The kitchen is tucked around the corner, in the rest of the space behind the bathroom.
It’s compact but has everything I’d ever need.
How much cupboard space does one person need, anyway? Maybe two people, in the future.
“I’ll leave you to have another wander around. I’ll be in the foyer,” the agent says. She gives us the key.
Once we’re alone, Flynn stands behind me, his hands tucked into the front pockets of my jeans. “What do you think?”
“It’s the best of the bunch.”
“But do you like it?”
“Yes. Do you?”
“Yup. Lots of places for us to hang out. Like on the sofa there.” He points to the existing sofa. “Watching anime. And in the bedroom.”
“Making out?”
“I was hoping we’d make love in there. Lots and lots.”
I turn around and wrap my arms around him. “I like the sound of that. You’re very persuasive, Flynn Carter.”
“It’s got to be your decision. You’ll be the one living here.”
“And you’ll be the one spending lots of time here. I hope?”
“As often as you’ll have me.”
“It’s close enough to the farm?”
“Yeah. I reckon a half-hour drive, tops, which is better than where you are now. What about your drive to work?”
“About the same.”
Flynn grins. “It seems pretty perfect to me. And, worst case, you only have to stay for six months.”
That’s how long the initial lease is. After that, it switches to a rolling monthly contract.
“Do you like it enough?” he asks.
“I think so. But we should take another look around.”
It doesn’t take us long to move from room to room. I size up each room, figuring out what furniture I’d need and where I could fit some free weights. I decide the sitting room is the best place for that. I already have pots, pans, and plates from my uni days, but I’ve never needed my own furniture.
“I’ll need a trip to IKEA. Would you help?”
“Would we get to sit on all the furniture?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m up for it.”
We hold each other and kiss.
“Are you going to put in an application?” Flynn asks.
“Yes.”
“Who knows? You might be able to move in before graduation. You could show it off to your parents.”
I whistle. “They’ll be blown off their feet with a graduation ceremony, flat tour, and meeting my boyfriend in one day.”
“They might be too excited about the first two to remember to be mad at me,” Flynn mumbles.
“They love you.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He squeezes my hands. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop. I’m just worried. I hate that I came between you and Billy. I don’t want to come between you and your parents, too.”
“It was never your fault that Billy and I fell out.”
Flynn tilts his head and stares at me. “Then what was the reason?”
I look away. “Billy is an arsehole. End of story.”
“Jimmy—”
I kiss him. “Let’s go sort things out with the estate agent.”
“All right.”
We lock up and take the stairs down to the foyer. I wouldn’t want to use the stairs if I were carrying shopping, but wouldn’t mind the rest of the time.
“What did you think?” the agent asks.
“I’d like to put in an application.”
“Wonderful!” She pulls a form from her folder, which doubles as a clipboard, and hands it to me with a pen. I fill everything in, and give it back to her.
“I’ll let you know the outcome as soon as possible,” she says.
Flynn holds up crossed fingers on both hands.
“I’m glad I was able to show you somewhere you liked.” The agent shows us out.
The moment we’re in the car, my phone rings.
“It’s Mum.”
“Want me to wait outside?”
“Don’t be daft.” I take the call. “Hi, Mum.”
“How are you?”
“Fine. Did you get my message?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m calling. We’d love to come to your graduation ceremony. We’ll come the day before, if that’s all right with you? Have a look around Leeds a bit.”
“Uh, yeah, sure, but I can’t put you up.”
“That’s fine, we’ll book a hotel.”
“Okay.”
“And we’ll take you out for a meal after the ceremony.”
Called it.
“Billy would like to come.”
I scowl. “I can only invite two people to the ceremony.”
“I understand, but he wants to see you.”
I bet he doesn’t.
“It’s been so long since the two of you hung out. Maybe you could spend time together while your dad and I do the tourist thing.”
“I’ll be working the day before.”
“Couldn’t you take the day off?”
“I haven’t been there long, and I already have to take graduation day off.”
“Well, maybe he could come to yours in the evening, then, when you’ve finished work. Unless you’re working that evening? You do shifts at the gym, don't you?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose.
Flynn rubs my thigh supportively.
“No. I start early that day. I’ll be done by four," I say.
“Wonderful! We’ll drop Billy off at yours around five?”
“Fine.” Do I sound grumpy?
“See you in a few weeks. Love you.”
“I love you, too.” I end the call and breathe out. “How much of that did you hear?”
“Enough.”
“Billy’s coming.”
“I figured.”
I shift in my seat so I’m as angled towards Flynn as possible. “We should tell him.”
“Yeah.”
“I can tell him. You don’t have to be there.”
“Wouldn’t that be cowardly?”
“After the way he treated you? No.”
Flynn gnaws his bent knuckle before taking a deep breath. “I’ll be there. We’re a team. We support each other.”
I lean over the centre console to kiss him. “We are a team. If he talks shit to you, I’ll throw him out.”
“Thank you.”
I face the steering wheel again and rest my hands on it. “Where now?”
“IKEA?”
“I haven’t got the flat yet.”
“Yeah, but you will, and it’ll be fun. I think we could do with a bit of fun, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Ikea. Pick up a takeaway on the way back to yours, and snuggle up watching anime.”
I smile at him. “Sounds like a perfect evening to me.”