29. Theo
Sarah was quiet when she returned from the bedroom, and Theo wondered if she felt suffocated by him. He didn’t know how to do relationships properly, apparently. But surely inviting your girlfriend to Japan for three days wasn’t too crazy? Or was it?
‘Have you spoken to Levi today?’ Sarah asked. ‘Should we invite him and Alexis over and make this an official housewarming?’
‘I haven’t spoken to him, but I’m fine with that.’
‘Yeah, invite my big bro over,’ Elias said. ‘I hardly ever see him these days.’
Theo held off ordering food until Sarah got a reply from Alexis.
‘She said they’re already out for dinner, but they’ll drop by afterwards.’
‘Okay. I’ll just order for the three of us, then. And maybe get an extra serve of gulab jamun for dessert.’
He quickly placed the order on his phone and poured some wine. He hoped Sarah would relax soon.
‘Have you ever been to Japan?’ Sarah asked Elias.
‘Uh, random. But yes. Once. Loved it. Why?’
‘I’ve got a shoot over there, and I’ve invited Sarah to be my stylist,’ Theo explained.
‘Oh, that sounds like fun. So what’s the problem?’
Sarah was quiet. ‘I…’
‘She thinks I’m being too possessive,’ Theo answered for her.
‘No, that’s not it. It’s just… I don’t want to take advantage.’
Theo shook his head. ‘How are you taking advantage? I invited you! You’d be helping me out at short notice.’
‘I guess I feel like it’s too good to be true.’
Elias laughed. ‘Sweetheart, just take it for the offer it is. Three days in Japan isn’t a big deal. In fact, if it were me, I’d be annoyed I wasn’t going for longer. If you’re working, you won’t get to see anything.’
‘I was thinking of booking an extra couple of days for sightseeing at the end,’ Theo mused.
Elias nodded. ‘Nice. Yeah, you should definitely do that.’
‘Wait. I haven’t agreed yet,’ Sarah protested. ‘And I can’t take too much time off work. I only just got back from the first holiday I’ve had since the salon opened.’
‘Life’s too short for hesitation,’ Elias pointed out. ‘If I wasn’t so busy right now, I’d join you. Japanese food is to die for. I’d even happily eat solely from the convenience stores.’
Theo was going to make a joke about not wanting Elias to come along because he didn’t want him to get too close to Sarah, but he knew she was already annoyed about his behaviour with Bodie. He probably should have told her his suspicions, but he didn’t want to make any further accusations until he had proof. He also didn’t want to worry Sarah more than necessary.
‘Are you sure your manager is okay with me going?’ she asked.
‘Yes. Now can you please just say yes so we can enjoy dinner tonight and get excited about our first international holiday together?’
Sarah pressed her lips together. ‘Okay. Yes.’
Elias slapped her on the back. ‘That’s the spirit.’
They sat on the couch with their wine, and Elias regaled them with stories of his one trip to Japan until the doorbell rang. Levi and Alexis had arrived, and Levi was holding the Indian food.
‘We ran into the delivery guy downstairs, so we told him we’d save him some time,’ Levi explained.
‘Aren’t you supposed to give him the order number?’ Theo asked.
‘He seemed like he was behind schedule and didn’t care. He did ask which apartment we were heading to, so I guess that was enough proof for him.’
‘Okay, well, come in. We got extra dessert if you’re still hungry.’
‘Levi is always hungry,’ Alexis teased.
‘Do you have a problem with that?’ Levi asked.
‘No. Not at all. I don’t mind going to the supermarket three times a week to restock the fridge.’
Theo watched two of his favourite people bicker. The love and comfort they obviously shared was something he hoped he would one day have with Sarah. Right now, everything still felt awkward.
Sarah grabbed a bowl and served up some palak paneer with rice before ushering Alexis out onto the balcony.
Theo stayed inside with Levi and Elias.
‘Nice digs you have here,’ Levi said, looking around.
‘Don’t tell me you’re jealous,’ Theo drawled.
‘No, no. If my building is good enough for your mother, it’s good enough for me.’
‘I don’t think I like the way you said that.’
‘Take it however you please.’
‘So, is everything going okay? How’s fame treating you?’
‘Most of the time, I forget. But it seems to be getting harder to walk on the street without being recognised.’
Elias snorted. ‘I can’t believe you’re actually famous.’
Theo stiffened. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Elias seemed taken aback. ‘Um, that one of my friends is famous?’
‘And why couldn’t I be famous?’
‘You can. And you are. Jeez. Touchy much?’
Levi put a hand on Elias’ arm. ‘Maybe just drop it for now, okay?’
Elias looked like he wanted to protest, but he took a slug from his wineglass instead. ‘Whatever.’
Theo felt bad. Deep down, he knew Elias hadn’t meant anything by it. He was just sensitive after the recent revelation of his high school bullying. It was like verbalising it had brought all the emotions back to the surface.
He mentally shook himself and served up some food, handing the first bowl to Elias. ‘Here.’
Elias seemed to recognise it for the peace offering it was. ‘Thanks.’
They joined the women on the balcony and sat around the outdoor table Theo had recently purchased. The air was cold but bearable.
‘So, I’ve just been googling fun things for you and Sarah to do in Tokyo,’ Alexis said.
‘Have you now?’ Theo drawled.
‘Well, I figured with the stalker roaming around…’
‘Wait. Who has a stalker?’ Elias piped up.
‘I’ll explain later,’ Theo said.
‘…it does makes sense for her to get out of the country for a few days,’ Alexis finished.
‘We still haven’t spoken to that detective either,’ Theo said.
‘We’ll do it after Japan,’ Sarah said. ‘But only if the situation deteriorates.’
He reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘Thank you for agreeing to come.’
‘Don’t thank me. I’m the one who should be thanking you. The reason I said no in the first place was because it was too generous an offer.’
‘No, it wasn’t. It was just a fortuitous set of circumstances.’
‘Maybe.’
Theo could see she was still hesitant, but he was starting to realise it wasn’t because of his possessiveness.
He’d have to work harder to make her realise she really was helping him out.
And if they had some fun along the way, would that be so bad?