Chapter Six
Jonathan
I’d virtually finished my ice cream and now I was wishing I hadn’t eaten it so quickly since I wanted to stay here with Alfie rather than go back to work. Because even though I had things to do before the end of the day, I’d rather stay late to get them finished than rush off now.
Perhaps I’d just have to come back and get more ice cream. I could deal with the potential crowds and early summer sunshine if it meant getting to see Alfie again.
Maybe I’d even get two scoops so I could stay longer.
“I assume you’re working all weekend?” I asked before popping the last of the cone into my mouth and chewing. The waffle was sweet and crunchy, and there were a few drops of the cinnamon and white chocolate ice cream clinging to it.
Alfie had been right about how delicious it was, and a small part of me wondered if they’d ever consider selling it by the tub so I could take it home and eat it while snuggling on the sofa and watching anime.
I’d started watching Delicious in Dungeon and it only felt right that I had something good to eat while watching it, even if I hadn’t made it myself.
“Yeah,” Alfie said with a little smile. “And next week too, since it’s half-term and we’re hoping to be busy.
We really need to work out a rota so we all get at least one day off, but we’ve put off doing that until we see what days are our busiest and whether we’ll have to hire someone part time to give us some breathing room. ”
“Are you going to be open every day?”
“I think so. At least during the summer and other peak periods—it doesn’t make sense to turn people away.”
I nodded in agreement. With how good their ice cream was, I couldn’t see them struggling for customers. “That makes a lot of sense, especially since it can get very quiet in the winter. I suppose you need to make most of your money now.”
“Exactly, I’ve done so many forecasts for the winter already, with reduced hours and menus and such.” He sighed and grimaced, and I felt bad for worrying him on what should have been an exciting day. “I’ll admit it makes me nervous.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, wondering if I should reach out and put my hand on his arm. I wasn’t the best at comforting people—it was a skill I was still learning from Laurie—and this also wasn’t a situation I could really apply my usual “sorry for your loss” speech. “I didn’t mean to ruin your day.”
Alfie turned to look at me, his pursed lips relaxing into a soft smile.
“You haven’t ruined anything. Honestly, I’m glad you’re realistic rather than telling me that it’ll be amazing all the time.
” His gaze shifted past me to the cobbled street which led down towards the sea.
“Growing up here, I remember how much shut down in the winter and I always thought it would be nice not to have to work for half the year, but now…” He chuckled.
“Don’t tell Milo I’ve been worrying again.
He keeps telling me not to be so pessimistic. ”
“I won’t,” I said, returning his smile. “Mostly because that would involve me talking to him, and I’m not very good at doing that.”
“You’re talking to me.”
“Yes, but you’re… different.” I trailed off, realising how lame that sounded. But there was something about Alfie that made him easy to talk to, or at least, had made him easy to talk to the last time we’d spoken.
Although, it didn’t feel awkward now either, despite the ticking clock hanging over our heads.
“If it helps, I’ve never been great with people either,” Alfie said. “But I like talking to you. And hopefully we can find more time to hang out.”
“I hope so too. I don’t do much outside of work, well apart from painting and that’s flexible. Maybe… maybe one evening next week? We could meet up somewhere? If you’re not too tired obviously. Or busy.”
“Next week would be great.” He sounded almost relieved.
Or maybe it was happy? Either way, his tone reflected the feeling in my stomach, and as the realisation of what he’d said sank in, it almost felt like I had butterflies.
“Can I get your number? Or do you have Instagram? Anything for me to message you really.”
“Of course,” I said, waiting for him to pull his phone out of his pocket so I could rattle off my number.
“Do you use WhatsApp?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect.” He tapped his screen and a couple of moments later I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. “That’s from me.”
“Thank you,” I said, as I tried to resist the urge to see what he’d written.
It was probably only a word or two, maybe his name, nothing special.
Still, it was a way to contact him and the thing I’d been wanting ever since we’d had dinner in Leeds.
My cheeks felt unusually hot, even for sitting in the sun, and I shifted slightly in my seat.
“I’ll probably come down over the weekend, if that’s okay?
I’m trying to remember to take breaks from painting and get some fresh air, and I think getting some ice cream would be a good motivator to do that. ”
“Ice cream is a good reason to do anything,” he said, smiling again.
Gosh, every smile of his was so beautiful.
I wanted to catalogue all the different ways he smiled and how they made his face light up.
He glanced back at the door and then raised his eyebrows, and when I followed his gaze I saw Milo throwing glares at Alfie through the window as the book club-slash-unofficial neighbourhood watch crowded around the counter.
“I’m sorry, I probably need to get back to work. ”
“Me too.” I watched Theo and Laurie stepping through the shop door and immediately making a beeline towards us. I bit my lip because I was suddenly very worried that Theo would say something or make a big deal of me sitting with Alfie, and if he did, I’d die of embarrassment.
But thankfully, he was too distracted by his ice cream to say anything.
“We’re going to head back,” Laurie said as the pair of them stopped in front of us.
“I’ll come with you,” I said, standing up and brushing a few crumbs of waffle cone off my trousers.
He glanced between me and Alfie with lightning speed. “Are you sure? You don’t have to.”
“No, it’s fine. I have things to do.”
“And I have to get back inside before Milo throws me in the freezer,” Alfie said with a dry chuckle. He brushed his hand against my arm as he stepped past me, turning around to look over his shoulder and adding, “It was lovely to see you again, Jonathan.”
“You too,” I said, feeling my cheeks burn again, my arm tingling where he’d touched me. “I’ll message you.”
“Can’t wait.” He winked and then walked back into the crowded shop, leaving me frozen in place on the cobbles.
Nobody had ever winked at me before.
What was I supposed to do?
Was it meant to feel like someone had set off more fireworks than the Castle’s bonfire night display in my stomach?
Laurie and Theo were both watching me but doing an excellent job of pretending they weren’t. When I turned back to them, Laurie just nodded and smiled before he started walking, his hand in Theo’s, leaving me to follow along behind them and try to work out exactly what I was feeling.
I knew the silence wouldn’t last long though, but I was surprised it took Theo until we got halfway back to the office before he finally asked, “So… who was that?”
“Um, Alfie,” I said as Theo let go of Laurie’s hand and dropped back to walk beside me. I noticed he’d finished his ice cream. “We met at the tournament last weekend.”
“That’s so cool! Did you know he lived here?”
“No. He just said he was opening a business this weekend, but we didn’t talk about it because he wanted some time away from the stress.”
“But you got on well?”
“Yes, we did.”
“And you like him?”
“Yes, he’s very nice,” I said, wondering what Theo was getting at with his questions. There was a twinkle in his eye and a brightness to his expression that once again spelled trouble, and I suddenly had the distinct feeling of walking into a trap.
“Are you going to see him again? You said you’re going to message him, so you must be planning to meet up!”
“Er, yes, hopefully. I’m sure he’ll be very busy though.”
Theo nodded solemnly, but I could still feel the trouble radiating out of him. “I’m sure he will be,” he said. “But I’m sure he’d like a distraction too.”
“Theo,” Laurie said, the warning note clear in his voice.
“What? I haven’t done anything! I was just saying that it’ll be nice for Alfie to see our lovely Jonathan after his busy days. After all, Jonathan is very sweet and handsome.”
“Oh… oh, it’s not…” I felt my face flushing again, heat burning across my nose as I squirmed.
I knew Theo had good intentions but I didn’t need him shining a spotlight on me.
And I certainly didn’t need his help, mostly because I wasn’t sure I’d survive the humiliation.
Theo knew everything about sex and relationships, and I didn’t know how to explain that my knowledge and experience wouldn’t even fill a thimble.
“We hardly know each other. I only just remembered to give him my number.” I looked down at my feet, focusing on the random things stuck to the pavement like a half-melted piece of chewing gum.
“I forgot last time. And truthfully, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see him again. ”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Theo said, sliding his fingers into mine and squeezing them tightly.
“Firstly, you are very sweet and handsome but that doesn’t have anything to do with what Alfie may or may not feel about you.
And I’m sorry for teasing.” He squeezed my hand again.
“Secondly, you don’t ever have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.
Consent isn’t just for romantic and sexual relationships!
It’s like… when I ask if I can hold your hand, or if I want to talk about certain games with you but I check in case you haven’t played or finished them yet. ”
“Your checking usually involves whining at me about them,” I said wryly.
Theo gasped dramatically. “It does not!” He waved our hands around in mid-air, making me chuckle.
I could already feel myself relaxing, which said a lot about Theo and how good he was at putting me at ease.
Sometimes he and Laurie felt like an odd combination of friends, queer elders, and parents, even though Laurie and I weren’t actually that far apart in age.
And I was eternally grateful to have them in my life, even if I didn’t always appreciate Theo’s need to meddle.
“Anyway,” Theo continued. “If you like him, or you think you might like him, even as a friend, and you want to spend more time together, then go for it.”
“But what if…” I chewed my lip, suddenly feeling like a lonely teenager all over again. “What if he thinks I’m weird? Or he doesn’t like me?”
“Then we egg his house.”
“Theo,” Laurie said, turning around to fix the pair of us with a very hard stare as we approached the front door and he began reaching in his pocket for his keys.
“What? I’m joking! Obviously Jonathan knows that.” He giggled then pulled my hand so I leant down as he whispered. “Only a little bit. We can totally egg his house if you want.”
I chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“But seriously, if he thinks you’re weird then fuck him, he doesn’t deserve to be in your life. You’re amazing, Jonathan, and more people should see that.”
“I don’t really need a lot of people to see it,” I said quietly. “Only a few.”
“And I think Alfie will be one of them,” Theo said. He sounded so certain, and while I knew Theo’s confidence in, well everything, shone brighter than the heart of a star, I wasn’t so sure.
I wasn’t special.
“How do you know?”
He just shrugged. “I just do.” He leant up and kissed my cheek. “You can do it, I promise. And we’re always here if you need anything. I’ll never judge you.”
“Thank you,” I said, giving in to the fact that Theo had already clocked my lack of experience. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have him to talk to if I had questions or concerns. I simply had to get over my embarrassment and ask them.
“Any time.” He squeezed my hand again and grinned brightly. “And you can just thank me in ice cream!”