VIC
I takethe beer Gareth offers me and lean back against the worktop with a smile. “You and Dylan have got a lovely place here.” Their Cornish retreat is right by the sea, and even in the depths of winter the nearby beach is beautiful. I’ve known Gareth for ages, ever since we shared a house together in our uni years, and seeing him this happy never fails to make me feel warm inside.
Dylan breezes into the kitchen from outside, their dog Harley hot on his heels. He stops and looks between us, “Why are you still standing in here when we have a perfectly good living room?” Grabbing my arm, he steers me out of the kitchen and into the warmth of their cosy living room.
I discovered earlier that their sofa is as comfy as it looks.
“Sit down and I’ll fetch the Christmas cake that Kitty brought round this morning. She makes it early just for Gareth.” Dylan raises his voice enough for it to carry into the kitchen. “Then you can tell me more embarrassing stories about Gareth in his prime.”
“Oi!” Gareth looks suitably affronted as he walks in and joins me on the sofa. “I’m still in my prime!”
Dylan grins as he turns round and walks out, tossing “You keep telling yourself that” over his shoulder.
Gareth has a soft, love-struck expression, which I would tease him for if I wasn’t a teeny bit jealous. I’ve only met Dylan once before, but even then, I could see how well-matched the two of them were. “You seem happy,” I say, unable to keep the wistfulness out of my voice. I’m pretty sure Gareth hears it too, judging by the flash of understanding in his eyes.
“I am.” He smiles and settles back into the cushions. “Are you sure you can’t stay longer? There’s plenty of hot Cornishmen around here, I’m sure we could find you?—”
“Stop.” I raise an eyebrow at him. “I’ve been to the pub with you, remember. Pretty sure we were the youngest ones there. Excluding Dylan. By about thirty years.”
“That’s because it was dominoes night. And it was summer. We get a younger crowd when it’s too cold to do anything else.”
“If you say so, but it doesn’t matter because I can’t stay. I promised Hailey I’d be up there by the first.” Hailey is my ex-wife, well, best friend is more apt. We were only married for a couple of years, but we’ve been best friends forever. We also share a child, Joe, and ever since our divorce, I’ve spent at least a few days, usually about a week, with them over Christmas.
This year it’ll be considerably longer.
“How come you’re going up so early this year?” Gareth sets his glass on the coffee table as Dylan comes back in carrying a delicious-looking Christmas cake and three plates. We both pause our conversation while Dylan cuts off three thick slices and hands them out. My mouth practically waters as I take mine.
It’s soft and—I try not to use the word moist if I can help it, but there really is no other way to describe it—oh my god,possibly the best thing I’ve ever tasted. The moan that escapes is loud and filthy, but I don’t even care. “I want to marry your neighbour.”
Gareth laughs. “Kitty would eat you alive, and besides, I think George would have something to say about it.”
“Trust you to move next door to someone who provides you with cakes like this,” I grumble before taking another bite. “All I get from my neighbour is disapproving looks and head shakes.”
“We get that too,” Dylan chimes in. “Kitty thinks Gareth doesn’t eat properly when he gets called out at all hours of the night.”
Gareth shrugs. “I keep telling her I’m used to it now as a country vet, but she still worries, I think.”
“It’s nice,” I say, setting my empty plate down. I was surprised when he moved from London to somewhere so... notremote, exactly, but the way of life here is still a million miles away from what he left behind. He’s never looked happier, though.
Hailey always wanted something similar, which reminds me I haven’t answered Gareth’s question from earlier. “I said I’d help out with Hailey and Char’s B&B. That’s why I’m going up earlier than usual.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Gareth’s face lit up. “They’ve taken over the pub, haven’t they? I haven’t spoken to her since they moved up there.”
Hailey was our third housemate during uni, and consequently, he knows her almost as well as I do. I love that we’re all still friends, that we have a history that goes back years.
“Yeah,” I say, smiling. “They’ve taken it over from Charlotte’s sister. The guest rooms need a little sprucing up, which is where I come in.”
Dylan frowns. “Charlotte’s her wife, yes?”
“Yeah.”
“Doesn’t that get a bit awkward with you being her ex and everything?”
I bark out a laugh because he couldn’t be more wrong. “I know on paper it probably sounds like it should, but honestly, me and Hailey were never meant to be together. For one, it turns out she’s more interested in women than men.”
“And you’re gay, right?”
“Bi.”
