“Soon. Not yet. It’s all still very new. I want to get to know you and how we fit together first. Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
“Is it?” Xander’s eyes were full of concern.
I breathed out slowly. I didn’t like the idea of keeping things from Dillon, but Xander and I needed to know what we meant to each other before we said anything to him. We needed to see if we wanted to be with each other enough to risk potentially weathering the storm.
“Yes. For now. I think we should aim to tell him by the time I have to go home. By then, we’ll know if this has been nothing more than a fun fling or if we want to stay together and see where it goes.”
Xander nodded slowly. “Okay.”
I cleared my throat. “I didn’t mean to make everything so serious.”
“It’s fine. It’s a topic we need to check in with each other on regularly.”
“We do.” I stroked his leg with my foot. “I’m having an amazing evening. You’ve turned a long, dismal day into a funny, light-hearted one. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Let’s finish. Then we can go home, and I’ll kick your arse on the racing game.”
I laughed because I knew he would. I was hopeless at it. But losing was half the fun because whether I won or lost, I ended up with a kiss from the sweetest guy in London.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
XANDER
“Oh my God, we made it!” Jae bounced on the balls of his feet. “I can navigate the London Underground.” He beamed as he pointed at a black-and-white sign that read ‘The Doodle Bar’. “I saw this place on social media and thought it would be fun to bring you here to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything.” He swung my hand and smiled sweetly. “For being you. Drinks and food are on me tonight.”
“You pay a lot of attention to social media, do you?”
Jae grinned. “Sometimes.” He put his finger against my chest. “I pay a lot of attention to your channels.”
“I bet you do.” I pulled him to me and pecked his lips.
“Come on!”
He dragged me inside, and then we stopped and stared. The bar was in the arches beneath a railway bridge. As a result, it had high, curved ceilings, some of which had planks of driftwood nailed to them. The walls were mostly bare brick with massive blackboards attached. The furniture had a retro feel to it. Green metal folding chairs stood around unpolished wooden tables. Wooden bar stools with red padded seats lined the bar. There were several table tennis tables arranged in a line, and the floor was covered in well-worn wood, making the bar feel loved and well used. It was busy but not packed.
“Table tennis or drawing?” Jae asked.
“I can’t draw.”
He laughed. “Nor can I. That’s not the point. It’ll still be fun. We could even play noughts and crosses.”
“I think we can do better than that.”
“Drinks first. Then drawing,” Jae decided.
We went to the bar, ordered drinks, and collected a handful of chalk each. With our beverages in hand, we found a blank area of the blackboard and stood, staring at it.
“Do you think we’d get thrown out if we drew giant dicks?” I asked.
Jae snorted. “How old are we?”
“Thirteen?”
