24. Sarah
‘Believe it or not, I used to live near here,’ Sarah said as Theo drove them to his new place.
‘You did?’
Sarah laughed at the disbelief in his tone. ‘Not in the fancy schmancy Teneriffe part, more like the Valley. It was a tiny, cheap apartment, but I didn’t have to share with my brother, and there was a great coffee shop nearby.’
‘What happened?’
She looked over at him. ‘Stalker.’ She sighed and turned back to looking out the window. ‘I wonder how he got my new number.’
‘As soon as we get home, we’ll get you a new SIM card,’ Theo said.
Sarah said nothing. Was it even worth it? He must have a way of getting her details, which meant he must know her. Well, that was obvious. Of course, he had to know her. People like him didn’t just randomly stalk strangers. But how did he know her? What connections did he have to her that he could get her new number so fast?
Theo parked the car in the underground garage, and they took the elevator to his apartment in silence. There was something going on with him. He’d been weird ever since the fan incident. Sarah kind of understood, but still… he’d been sulking. Or, at least, that’s what it felt like to her. He wasn’t the only one having issues with his privacy. At least he was getting paid for it, and he wasn’t the one who had to upend their entire life. His privacy issues were self-inflicted. Hers, not so much.
Sarah headed for one of the spare rooms.
‘Stop,’ Theo said.
‘What?’
‘Where are you going?’
‘To put my stuff away.’
‘My room is this way.’
Sarah faced him. ‘You want me to stay in your room?’
‘Why wouldn’t I?’
‘Maybe because you’ve been freezing me out all day. Maybe because I’m pretty sure if your man-brain hadn’t gotten jealous about seeing Bodie in my apartment, you would have just dropped me off and then ghosted me. Maybe because I don’t know what the hell is going on with you right now.’
‘Yeah, well, maybe I’ve been freezing you out because you started it first.’
‘What the hell do you mean by that?’
‘You’re my… stylist?’ He said the word like it tasted bitter.
‘What? I was supposed to out us to the world via a random stranger? I bet your manager would have been thrilled about that. And while we’re on the subject, I thought we already agreed to the secrecy. You know why I don’t want to get caught up in your public life. You know my situation right now!’
Theo swore softly and ran his hand through his hair as he turned away from her.
‘Oh, no you don’t,’ Sarah said, rounding on him so she was in his face again. ‘You are not running away from this. We need to deal with it. Right now.’
He let his hand drop. ‘Fine. Yes, I was pissed off that you said you were my stylist. And yes, okay, fucking yes, I understand why you need to keep below the radar. It drives me bloody nuts that I can’t claim you in front of the entire world. Do you know just how good it felt to tell those man-children in your apartment that I was your boyfriend? And now my manager is officially rejecting the idea of me having a public relationship. All I want is to have you by my side. Is that too much to ask?’
Theo was breathing hard, and Sarah didn’t think she’d ever seen him so worked up over anything before. Maybe she didn’t know him as well as she thought she did.
But whose fault was that? Hers for not willingly looking below the surface, or his for hiding so much from her? The fact he’d hidden his bullying from everyone, even his best friend, showed that he didn’t open up to people. And she knew she hadn’t wanted to see anything but the perfect fa?ade he projected because she had enough to deal with without taking on someone else’s problems.
‘Why aren’t you saying anything?’ Theo asked.
‘I just realised how little we really know each other,’ she said, exhausted with everything.
‘O-kay… but that’s normal for people in a relationship. That’s why people date—to get to know each other.’
‘I feel like we skipped too many steps.’
Theo stepped forward, and when she didn’t retreat, he pulled her into his arms. She went willingly, burrowing against him.
‘I’m sorry I got mad,’ he said. ‘I just like you so much, and I hate hiding it. I feel…’ he huffed out a breath. ‘It just feels like the situation with my father all over again.’
She tipped her face up to his. ‘What situation with your father?’
‘I told you he remarried and had another kid, right?’
Sarah nodded.
‘Yeah, well, for the longest time, his new wife wasn’t supposed to know about me. Dad didn’t want her to know he had a son from a previous marriage.’
‘Well, that’s kind of shitty. She knows about you now, though, right?’
‘Yeah, but I’m still practically a stranger. I have a four-year-old little brother I barely know. He probably wouldn’t even recognise me if we met on the street.’
Sarah squeezed him and then pressed up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
‘The secrecy thing just grates against me,’ he went on, still holding her tightly, even as he looked over her head at something in the distance. ‘The bullying thing and the messed-up dad thing and now this with you… it all kind of feels like I’m being erased.’
‘What?’
Sarah stepped back, breaking their connection, and looked up at him in surprise. ‘No, Theo. No. That’s not it at all. If I didn’t have a stalker and you weren’t the centre of a whole fan club of women’s fantasies, then I would shout it from the rooftops that you are mine. I know this situation sucks. But this is our life right now.’
‘What about in the future?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, if we deal with your stalker, what about then?’
‘There’s still the issue of your fame and your fans and your management company,’ Sarah said, looking away.
‘Yeah. That’s what I was afraid of.’
‘Does public recognition really matter?’ she asked, turning back to him. ‘Why do we need the world to validate what we feel? I am invested in this relationship, Theo. One hundred and ten percent. The rest of the world can go to hell. None of it matters. The only true thing is here and now between us when no one else is around.’
Theo stared at her for a long time, and she was worried she’d blown it. Was this the end of them?
In a single step, Theo had her in his arms again and was kissing her. She abandoned herself to it and wrapped herself around him, wanting to get as close as humanly possible.
‘You’re sleeping in my room,’ he growled roughly in her ear.
‘Okay,’ she agreed, letting him walk her backwards to his room… except his room was on the top floor and they had to negotiate stairs. They could have taken the elevator, but neither of them thought of it. Meanwhile, they left a trail of clothes all the way to his room.
Sarah woke early.She couldn’t exactly say she’d had a good night’s sleep, not when she and Theo had woken several times during the night to reaffirm their relationship status.
Sex.
They’d had several rounds of it.
Make-up sex was the perfect way to finish an argument.
Now Theo slept soundly beside her in the enormous bed that deserved its own postcode. How did someone get sheets for something this big?
Despite the lack of sleep, Sarah felt good. She was energised, and even though curling into Theo and going back to sleep was a valid idea, she needed to walk. She had today off—considering they were still supposed to be camping—and she didn’t want to waste it. But she didn’t want to wake Theo either.
She slid out of bed and retraced their steps, picking up their discarded clothing as she went. When she got to the living area, her bags were where they’d left them the night before. She quickly dressed, pulling on some sweats and shoes. They weren’t her regular walking shoes, but they were good enough.
Theo had given her a key when he first moved in, telling her she was welcome to crash at his place whenever she needed to get away. She grabbed her keys now, along with her phone, and headed outside. Her favourite coffee shop wasn’t far—about a fifteen-minute walk—and she wanted to take advantage of being so close to it. She also wanted to introduce the luscious taste of their coffee to Theo. Maybe he would become one of their regulars in place of her.
The morning was crisp, and Sarah relished it. It promised to be a beautiful winter day, and she really didn’t mind the cool air. It made her feel alive.
It was an easy walk, and within no time, she was breathing in the life-giving scent of her favourite elixir.
‘Sarah?’
Sarah smiled at the barista. ‘Meg, hi.’
‘I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.’
‘Yeah, I moved.’
‘We miss you.’
Sarah laughed. ‘You miss my money, you mean.’
Meg winked. ‘Well, you were our number one customer. What can I get you? The usual?’
‘Yes, please. Two.’
‘Two?’
Sarah smiled shyly. ‘I have a boyfriend. He lives nearby.’ Theo was right. It did feel good to say that out loud.
Meg smiled conspiratorially. ‘Does that mean we’ll get to meet him? And maybe see you more often too?’
Sarah smiled noncommittally and then looked around. ‘There are some fresh faces.’
Meg sighed. ‘Yeah. A couple of the guys left. Steph graduated and got a job with her degree. Sam moved to Melbourne. And Casey just up and left one day.’
‘Casey?’ Sarah blinked. Not… not Casey? Gabe’s friend, Casey? Had he worked here?
‘I don’t think I remember Casey,’ Sarah said as she moved along the counter with Meg to let the next customer order.
Meg switched places with her offsider and took over making Sarah’s coffee, letting the other barista serve.
‘Young guy. Sandy hair. He said he knew you.’
‘He did? Huh. I wonder if it’s my brother’s friend. It’s weird that I didn’t know he worked here.’
‘He left not long after you stopped coming here.’
Sarah leaned against the counter and nibbled on her thumbnail. Casey had worked here? Small world.
‘Here you go,’ Meg said, sliding the two coffees across the counter. ‘Make sure you bring your boyfriend in to meet us next time. And don’t be a stranger.’
‘Thanks, Meg,’ Sarah said as she picked up the coffees and took a cautious sip. She groaned. ‘Oh, how I have missed this.’
‘You know where we are,’ Meg said with a wink.
Sarah left, heading back the way she came. If she was going to spend some time at Theo’s, then she could definitely start coming back to see Meg, couldn’t she? The coffee was too good not to. Maybe if she visited infrequently? If she didn’t make it regular, the stalker wouldn’t know, right?
Sarah took another sip of the coffee. Yeah. She would definitely be back.