XANDER
By the time I’d done my morning YouTube stream, showered, and got dressed, Jae had raided my kitchen and prepared a packed lunch for two. After breakfast, we set off on a whistle-stop tour of London, starting with the first two modelling agencies Jae needed to get to.
“How have we walked eleven-thousand steps already?” Jae looked at his smartwatch.
It was midday, and we were sitting on our jackets under the shade of some trees in Regent’s Park.
“We probably did most of those steps underground.”
Jae pursed his lips. “Probably. London isn’t what I expected.”
“How so?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought it would be glamorous, but it’s just busy and chaotic.”
I laughed. “You’ll get used to it. I bet you’ll be navigating London and the tube like a pro by the end of the week.”
“I’m not so sure.” Jae began to unpack our lunch.
“The park isn’t chaotic,” I pointed out.
Jae looked around slowly before nodding. “It’s almost hard to imagine that we’re in the heart of London here.”
“There are lots of places like this.”
Jae raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yup. If you want acres of peaceful, open space, we should go to Kew Gardens. Not today,” I added. “It’s a bit of a trek, and you need a whole day to walk around it. But one day while you’re down here.”
“You like it here, don’t you?”
“London? Yes.”
Jae picked up a sandwich and stared at it thoughtfully. He’d taken the crusts off and then cut them into small triangles. “Would you ever move back to Leeds?”
I didn’t know why he’d ask something like that. “Probably not. No.”
Maybe I imagined it, but I was sure Jae’s shoulders sagged a little.
“Don’t you miss Dillon?”
“Of course. But I don’t need to live in the same city to keep in touch with him. Will you move here when you get a modelling contract?”
Jae blushed. “Don’t you mean if?”
“No.” I wanted to run my thumb across his cheek. “I mean when.”
He smiled. “I’d have to. At the moment, it’s a scary prospect. It’s so much bigger and busier than Leeds. I feel like I’d get lost in a heartbeat.”
“You wouldn’t. Once you’ve mastered the underground, navigating London is a piece of cake.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Jae’s eyes gleamed. “How many times did you get lost before you became a master?”
“Oh, a hundred at least.”
