I shook my head. “Ours,” I countered. “Just one week at ours before you’re off to university. But you’ll be back.”
“I’m looking forward to it already,” she told me, and those eyes were my dazzling sparkles all over again.
Just like they always would be.Work was a deadly quiet start to a new week as our office stood mute at the sight of us entering together. There was no sign of Erica, and no mention of anything whatsoever that happened on pussy cat night.
It was Rachel who finally broke the ice with a tea and a smile, heading on over as Faith and I discussed the coming Friday’s auction listings like business as usual in the finance office.
“Here you go, guys,” she said, and handed them over. And then she leaned in with a wink and smirk, her voice laced with a little laugher as she gave us a loud whisper.
“I always did think you’d make a good couple,” she said.It was gone lunchtime when I headed on over to the property office to begin the unfortunate changes that would need to be made to the structure in Colin’s absence. I was contemplating Bill as a stand in, hoping he’d be able to get the rental properties functioning with the maintenance just fine, but I was sighing with the sad crap of all this. The sad crap of losing such a good guy as Colin from our huge chunk of years together.
I grabbed my briefcase up ready as I stepped into the main office, fully prepared to explain why the hell Colin wasn’t in today, just in case they hadn’t heard the ocean of speculation on the grapevine already.
But there he was.
Colin.
Sitting pride of place at his desk, and managing to give me the slightest tip of his head, even though his eyes were still full of utter rage for me.
“Miles,” he said.
“Good to see you,” I told him, and he shuffled some more of his paperwork before clearing his throat.
“Was there something in particular you were heading over here for?” he asked. “Or are you just here to chew the cud?”
Our eyes met. Our stares spoke volumes.
And I nodded. I nodded with a smile.
A really fucking decent smile.
For just a split second he managed one back.
“Nothing in particular,” I said, and left him to it.EpilogueFaithI still felt so unsteady as a learner driver as Miles directed me up to Warwick University with my dorm room luggage stacked up in the back. I laughed as I heard another ping from my phone on his lap, and he laughed along with me.
“Yes,” he said. “It sure is her.”
I sure was happy it was.
He read out the latest message from Mum with a load more instructions for what supplies I needed to help me in the dorm room kitchens, and I relayed a thanks through my touchscreen to Miles as he sent it back through to her.
It was early days but we were getting there. Dad was at least back to sending Miles work emails with a slight hint of general chat on them now.
“That’s it,” Miles said, and pointed out a turn to the right. “Just along here and we’re almost at…” He paused. “That’s it, we’re approaching your dorm rooms… right… now.”
And there we were, pulling right on up to the car park where there were a whole host of students grabbing bags and cases from the trunks of their cars and trundling them on up into the stairwells. I took a breath before we joined them, realising again how much of a contrast this was really going to be from the calm of home with Miles.
I said hello to some grinning girls as I passed them in the hallway, and wondered just how many friends I was going to make in this place. It was when I was dropping some of my utensils in a drawer in the communal kitchen, and Miles was back outside for another suitcase, that one of the pink-haired girls from a room a few down introduced herself with a giggle.
“Wow, your dad is pretty damn hot,” she laughed, and I laughed right along with her.
“He sure is,” I said. “But that’s not my dad.”
With that Miles headed back in and I pulled him in tight for a kiss.
“Oh crap, I’m so sorry,” she – Emily – said, but I grinned quite happily, and with that the ice was broken, freedom to use each other’s bowls and jugs guaranteed.
It felt so strange when my room was made up for the night. I had my laptop and notebooks and pens out on the desk, and some timetables pinned up on my pinboard, and my bed looked ok with some sweet enough purple bedding.
But it wasn’t home. It wasn’t anything like home. Not with Miles beside me so warm every night.