Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Ben lived in a two-bedroom flat above a nail salon with three other guys in Islington.
By the time Austin landed in London, he wanted somewhere to shower and lie down for a nap after a twelve-hour flight from Jackson Hole that had an hour layover in Denver. He’d taken the red-eye and he’d always been shit at sleeping on planes, so by the time he landed at Heathrow at quarter to ten on Saturday morning, Austin’s brain was fried, and the check-in time at his hotel wasn’t for another few hours.
Thankfully, Ben’s roommates were all off to their various jobs, and when Austin’s taxi dropped him off in front of the nail salon—cleverly named Nail Salon—Ben was waiting out front for him.
Austin hopped out of the car before it had come to a full stop and dragged his brother into a hug.
Ben half grunted, half laughed as they collided. “Hello to you too.”
“Shut up, asshole. It’s been forever.”
“You saw me in January.”
“Like I said—forever.”
Ben’s arms tightened around him. Austin gave a fake squeak, making Ben laugh again.
“Excuse me? Sir?” The taxi driver waved to get his attention. “You owe me seventy pounds.”
“Whoops.” Chuckling, Austin pulled away from Ben to dig his wallet out of his pocket.
His fare paid for and his carry-on extracted from the trunk, he slung an arm around Ben’s shoulders in a sideways hug. “Tell me you have coffee.”
“Like twelve different kinds.” Ben led the way to the side door and up the stairs. “Antwon’s new obsession is fair-trade coffee. We’ll see how long that lasts. His kombucha phase lasted all of three weeks.”
“I thought Antwon moved out.”
“He was supposed to move in with his girlfriend, but they broke up, so...” Shrugging, Ben swung the door to his apartment open. “He didn’t seem all that upset about it, so it’s probably a good thing they hadn’t moved in together yet. You hungry?”
“Starving.” Austin left his suitcase by the door and followed Ben to the kitchen. “They never feed you enough on long-haul flights.”
“I can do scrambled eggs and toast. Or we can order lunch? What time is it for you right now?”
“Fuck if I know. Scrambled eggs and toast sounds amazing, honestly. Can I help?”
“Nah.” Ben grinned at him and got the eggs out of the fridge. “Have a seat. Take a load off.”
“I’ve been sitting for hours.”
“Do you want to take a nap after you eat? Antwon won’t be back for hours, so you’ll have our room to yourself.”
“I thought I might, but...” But now that he was here, why would he spend even a second napping when he could spend it with his brother instead? “Maybe we can take a walk instead? I need to stretch my legs.”
“You can stretch your legs to that cupboard over there and make your coffee selection.”
He sniffed them all before selecting one from Scotland, then wandered out of the kitchen, texted Cal that he’d arrived at Ben’s, then put his phone away to look around. The apartment wasn’t anything fancy: a small living room with a massive television, an even smaller kitchen, a tiny kitchen table, and two bedrooms with two twin beds each. It was nicely decorated though, with a leather sectional, tall bookshelves, and pale gray curtains over the windows. Last time Austin had been here, there’d been a creepy painting on the wall of a pair of melting eyeballs. That was gone, thank god.
He made his way back to the kitchen, where Ben was chopping vegetables for the eggs.
“Clearly you have real food in the fridge. Why are you always eating those microwavable meals?”
Ben chuckled. “They’re faster and easier. I hate cooking.”
“You’re cooking for me.”
“You flew across the pond to see me. It’s the least I can do.”
“Technically, I flew across the pond to see Hedda,” Austin teased. “You’re just a convenient stopover.”
“Now who’s the asshole?” Ben said, laughing.
Ben looked good. Tired, likely owing to the two jobs, but good. His hair, the same gold shade as Austin’s, was shaved on the sides and longer on top, and he had short scruff on his jaw and above his upper lip that made him look older than twenty-three. He was leaner than ever, no doubt owing to poor nutrition, and Austin wanted nothing more than to beg him to come home.
But going by the slight stiffness in Ben’s shoulders, he was expecting exactly that, so Austin tabled that discussion for some future date.
They ate at the table, and per Ben’s request, Austin caught him up on what was happening back home. Once they’d finished eating, they headed out, Ben toting an umbrella even though it was sunny because “you should always expect it to rain here, no matter what the weather app says.” Ben led him to the nearest entrance of the Regent’s Canal Walk, and they strolled along the canal. Last summer, they’d hiked it beginning to end and it had taken them almost four hours. Austin didn’t have the energy for that today—he doubted he’d make it more than a couple of miles—but it was quiet along the canal, the buildings hiding them from the hustle and bustle of the city.
“So.” Austin bumped Ben’s shoulder. “You seeing anyone?”
“Nah. I date here and there, but there hasn’t been anyone recently. Honestly, with the two jobs, some days I can’t be bothered to brush my teeth before bed, never mind date.”
You could come home , Austin wanted so badly to say. He’d give Ben his extra bedroom and let him live rent-free so he could save up some money and not live paycheck to paycheck.
“And how about you?” Ben asked. “How did your first date redo with Cal go? Please tell me it went better than the last one.”
“Quite.” Austin gave a rueful laugh. “We were a lot less stiff and formal. It was just us at my place and... we talked. It was the same as it’s always been between us, but it was also more.”
“There’ll be a date two then?”
“There better be.”
“Good. I’m glad for you guys. Just... be careful with each other. Okay?” Ben’s smile was a touch sad. “It doesn’t always work out, going from friends to something more. I really hope it does for you.”
Austin side-eyed his brother but couldn’t tell much about his mood thanks to the sunglasses that hid his eyes. “Do you ever talk to Las?”
“Every once in a while. He called me last summer, out of the blue, which was big of him considering I was the one who left him. It was the first time we’d talked since we broke up. Now we talk every couple of months or so.” Ben went quiet for a moment. Hands shoved in his jeans pockets, he eventually said, “He and Marco are serious, huh?”
“Yeah, they’re pretty solid.” Heart clenching for Ben, Austin squeezed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.”
“No,” Ben said with a light laugh. “God no. Don’t be sorry. I haven’t been pining away for him since we broke up. I’m happy he’s happy.”
Teasingly, Austin said, “I think you actually mean that.”
“Asshole.” Ben shoved him lightly, mouth creased in a smile. “Seriously. Who invited this guy?”
Feeling lighter than he had in a long time, Austin swung an arm around his shoulders and offered to buy him an ice cream.