“I said you were going to spoil her rotten.”
He blushed but didn’t deny it.
“How about your parents? They must be totally in love with her, too.” I could only imagine how Sofia would be the center of everyone’s attention. Babies had a way to do that.
Isaac suddenly frowned and his demeanor changed.
“I don’t have parents.”
“Oh god, Isaac, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”
“That’s okay, you didn’t know. They’re around somewhere but not in my or Alex’s life, and most definitely not in Sofia’s life. She has another set of grandparents that more than make up for it. They’re goodpeople.”
I wondered what had happened and then I remembered my own parents. The pain wasn’t as difficult to handle as it had once been.
“What happened?” I asked.
“When I came out to my parents, they kicked me out. I went to David, but then his uncle showed up and kicked me out, too. Then I went to a bus station. It was the only place that was open all the time, so I kept moving around, pretending I was waiting for a bus. Some nights, I went to the train station, too. I finally found somepeople that were doing the same as me, and they took me to this old bus shelter near my school. They had sleeping bags and piles of cardboard they slept on. I was there for a few weeks until David found me and took me to his apartment. He told me he’d had a fight with his aunt and uncle and had changed the locks at the apartment so I was able to stay there.
“I lived with David for two years until I finished school and then I got a scholarship to pay for myuniversity degree, which included all the living expenses, so I moved out into student apartments.”
“Sounds like it all worked out well for you in the endthen, especially as you still have Alex in your life.”
“Yes, I was very lucky.”
We sat in silence for a while, looking at the sun setting on the horizon. I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth on my face until Max jumped onto my lap and curled up.
“Traitor,” Isaac said.
I chuckled.
“Max, can we talk about what happened?”
I knew this was coming, but I was still dreading it. We’d had such a lovely evening that I was almost afraid of ruining it by talking about us and what had happened.
“Okay.”
Everything became clear when Isaac explained that the reason he’d left the club that night was because he’d been searching for a missing kid. I was also relieved that the guy he’d gone with was just a friend who worked for the police.
Somehow, I trusted Isaac when he told me nothing had ever or would ever happen with this friend. I wasn’t sure why he was telling me that, but I was glad to know itnonetheless.
“What happened after Joel’s parents died?” Isaac asked.
I turned in my chair to face him, making sure Max was still comfortable in his curled-up position.
“I never forgot about you, Isaac. I guess I was terrified I’d lose you, too. Joel encouraged me to get in touch, so I emailed a few months later but never got a reply, so my fear came true.”
Isaac got up and went toward the glass panels that surrounded the balcony, but then turned around. “I didn’t receive any emails.”
His curly hair was flying softly in the breeze. I got up and went to him, making sure we were so close we wouldn’t be able to move without touching each other. His eyes looked more green than blue in the brightness of the sunset.
“I thought you’d lied in New York, that I’d just been a bit offun and you didn’t really want to keep in touch. I mean, why would you even? We were only together for a day.” The doubt in his voice was as clear as daylight. “But I couldn’t get you out of my mind, so I sent you an email in February, but the email bounced back.”
He looked down and I couldn’t resist running my hands through his soft hair and tilting his head so I could see his beautiful expressive eyes.
“I don’t know what happened, Isaac. Maybe we took the details down wrong. It doesn’t matter anymore.” I smiled at him, and when he smiled back, I felt like the sun had skipped the night and was rising all over again.
“Let’s exchange our details properly this time and make sure we speak before we make any more assumptions, okay?” he said.
“Okay.” I allowed my thumb to caress his lower lip and felt his breath catch. “Isaac?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
