Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Mike
Dylan looked so peaceful when he slept. Why was I staring at Dylan again?
Right, because I felt so embarrassed over my drunken call a few weeks back.
Now we were here, in my mom’s living room, sleeping right next to each other; me on the couch and him on a mattress on the floor.
Christmas ended a few hours ago, but I still couldn’t seem to fall asleep.
The conversation Dylan and I had shared over the phone kept running through my head.
Vera had always hated being away from me.
She always demanded I return home sooner, or, in her exact words, “worked faster”.
It was a struggle having to explain to her over and over again that I needed to be allowed to enjoy my job or I would end up resenting it.
She couldn’t seem to understand why I enjoyed traveling.
In her mind, that meant that I enjoyed being away from her.
I sighed. She truly was a bitch like Dylan had said.
She did have some good qualities. Most of them just disappeared as soon as I began working for real.
She enjoyed fancy dates, still waiting to get a job herself, but my travel had created tension and arguments, heated arguments, too.
Dylan let out a cute snorting sound and my focus was back on him.
He’d been there when I called, even though we weren’t exactly close.
I still had no idea why I’d called him; only that I needed someone to talk to so I clicked his name.
His soft words had helped, but he’d also said things that no one else had ever said to me.
Like how she knew what she was getting into.
Jackson had said something similar, but not the exact same.
I should’ve told Jackson that Vera’s biggest issue with me was my abundance of…
emotions? Was that what Vera had said? She wanted me to be more protective and comforting and she hated when I cried during movies.
She wanted me to comfort her and not the other way around.
I should’ve bought her one of those toy robots as a gag Christmas gift, since she seemed to want that for her life partner.
The reason I hadn’t told Jackson that part, was because my best friend was protective of me, and his years of therapy meant he was all about showing emotions.
I was glad Pete was dating someone as emotionally mature as Jackson.
Although, the thought of Jackson dominating my little brother in bed caused me to gag.
It was something I hated knowing about their relationship, but it was what it was and they were happy.
Was I over Vera? Not completely. Feelings simply didn’t work that way, but before today, I would’ve given us another chance.
The thing that solidified that we would never ever work again, had been her posting on her socials that she’d gotten flowers from a guy she was seeing.
Then she’d tacked on how nice it was to date a real man.
She’d moved on and already posted it for all to see.
I was not going back to her no matter what after that.
Fuck, to think I’d shortened my trip to Japan just to talk to her was enough to make me see red.
I’d called and texted while away and she’d ignored them all.
Then I returned home, hoping she would see me in person, but no.
Japan had been one of the countries I’d been most excited to see, and she’d somehow tainted the experience.
Never again.
Dylan’s soft snores were enough to make me relax. I had good people around me and, in a few days, I would leave for two whole years. Africa was my next destination and I would enjoy every second of it. Vera would soon just be a memory. I’d make sure of that.
The sound of my bag hitting the floor shouldn’t have been so satisfying, but it was.
That sound meant that I’d finally made it.
My hotel room in Africa wasn’t exactly spacious, but it had everything I needed.
My coworker Ivar had the room next to me and I was once again so damn happy we weren’t sharing the same room for the two years we would stay here.
Our main task for the duration of our stay was to observe a small town an hour’s drive away; to study how they tended to their crops and animals, and document everything as precisely as possible.
Ivar was better at languages than me, so he would be the one communicating with them as I slowly learned from the sidelines. I much preferred to observe anyway.
It was late now, the sun fully gone from the sky.
I should rest. We would leave at five each morning in order to reach the town at around six.
But it was hard thinking of sleep when I was in a whole new country.
I longed to experience everything. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I wanted everything to happen now.
My phone lit up, a text from Dylan.
Dylan: Hope you arrived safely! Send pictures of your food! I need inspiration!
I smiled. We’d chatted at Christmas and he’d seemed so interested in my upcoming job here that I’d found myself talking for way too long about it. But Dylan wasn’t annoyed that I just kept talking and talking. He’d seemed truly fascinated by everything I’d said.
Me: I have and I will. Better go to bed. Early start tomorrow.
I dumped my phone on the bed and began changing out of my travelling clothes. I needed a shower before falling asleep. There was simply no way I was getting up earlier than planned to squeeze a shower in, too.
Once I was freshly showered and dressed in only boxers, I found my phone with two missed texts from Dylan.
Dylan: Sweet dreams!
Dylan: And remember those photos!
Smiling, I replied.
Me: I promise. Sweet dreams.
I stared at my screen for way too long trying to understand this feeling of contentment, or was it happiness?
Dylan’s interest in my job and his blatant concern was nice.
I wished we’d talked more in the past, but this Christmas was our first chance to really get to know each other.
Mom had been busy with Jackson’s little sister, Ida, and Pete and Jackson were all loved up.
It left Dylan and me alone to talk for hours.
I’d never had that with him before. With our five-year age gap, it probably wouldn’t have been much fun earlier either.
Now that Dylan was over nineteen, we could actually talk about stuff. It was nice.
I fell asleep with a smile on my lips.
Dylan: Good morning! How’s the weather in Africa? It’s snowing here and I’m considering running away to Africa and joining you!
I blinked at the screen trying to make sense of the words.
Dylan had sent me that text exactly one minute before my alarm started.
Did he know what time I was supposed to wake up?
Had I told him? It could just be a coincidence, but if he’d had to check our time difference…
that was actually sort of sweet. Vera had never bothered and we’d been dating.
Dylan was just my little brother’s best friend, and my friend now too, I guessed.
Mom: Did you arrive safely?
Damn, I’d forgotten to text my mom.
Me: Yes, mom, sorry I forgot to text. Will call you later.
Mom: Have fun today! Remember sunscreen!
I smiled and rolled my eyes. She would forever be such a mom.
I returned to Dylan’s text, feeling oddly nervous about texting him back. I didn’t want to somehow say the wrong thing and mess up this new friendship between us.
Me: Good morning. I think it’s sunny. Haven’t left the bed to check yet, though.
Dylan: You need to get up! First day on the job and I need those photos you promised me!
I laughed. Dylan was just such a positive person it would be impossible not to feel better after texting him
Me: I’m up!
Dylan: You better be!
I laughed again and sent him a smiley face. I could get used to this sort of wake-up call.
Ten minutes later, I met Ivar outside his room. We had a driver who would drive us into town and pick us up around seven that night. It would be many long days with this schedule, but we had the weekends off to do our own thing.
Ivar yawned as we got into the car, his eyes closing as soon as we began driving. He appeared to be asleep within seconds. Great, now I was left alone with the driver who liked to talk. At least he spoke English.
It surprised me that instead of thinking about my job and what great experiences I would have today, I thought of Dylan and how much I looked forward to texting him tonight.