I smiled weakly. “Yes, I know that. But I hate that for a second, I had to wonder.”
The waitress appeared with our meals, and I quickly dug into the pizza — both because it was a good distraction, but also because I was genuinely hungry. As a cheapskate uni student, I liked Dominos and Pizza Hut as much as the next person, butthere was something about this fancy stuff. The thick, pillowy crust, browned from a wood-fired oven, the melted mozzarella against rich red tomato paste, the artfully arranged basil leaves. The scent alone was mouth-watering.
I was so distracted by the delicious food that I only looked up after demolishing half the pizza. Leo was equally raptured by his pesto pasta, and I laughed at his expression.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. How’s your food?”
“Really good. You want a taste?”
I nodded, and he pushed his bowl closer to me. I used my fork to twirl up some of the spaghetti and brought it to my mouth. “Mm. That is good.” I gestured at my plate. “Do you want a slice of my pizza?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t.” I used my fork and knife to pick up a piece and placed it on the side of his bowl.
“Thank you,” he said.
A few minutes later, I was slowly finishing my last slice of pizza. Leo had eaten all his pasta and was draining the last of his Solo.
“I am sorry, Edwin,” he murmured.
I set down my pizza slice.
“I’m sorry I hurt you, and I’m sorry I let you leave that night without trying to explain myself.”
“I could’ve waited,” I admitted.
He shook his head quickly. “You shouldn’t have had to. Even if you did, I don’t think I’d have the words to…to…” he trailed off. “I do like you,” he said. “Not the sex. You.
“And I shouldn’t have ditched you at the party. Every time I think of it, I feel so ashamed. I knew you wanted a boyfriend. I knew it from the very start. I guess I was afraid of how fast things happened and how intensely I felt about you, and therewas the fact I felt totally clueless about everything, but…” he inhaled deeply. His eyes didn’t waver from mine; they were wide, pleading. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you for saying that,” I managed after a long moment. It was like my brain had glitched, and I had to work extra hard to gather my thoughts. I realised I sounded overly formal and slumped my shoulders, letting the facade melt away. “This is what I wanted,” I told Leo, voice helpless. “I wished you’d come back. Well, you know that. It was in my love letter.”
And Leo smiled at me. Not his usual blinding smile, with the top row of straight white teeth. This smile was small, with the corners of his eyes crinkling, but it was true all the same.
17
We were silent as we walked back towards the city. Around us, the air felt alive, and the street seemed to be populated with more couples than usual, holding hands and smiling at each other.
“I need to drop off Pippa,” Leo said. “You don’t mind waiting, do you?”
“No, go ahead,” I said.
A minute later, we arrived at an apartment building with glossy black walls and tinted windows.
“I won't be a moment,” Leo said.
I gave Pippa one last pet and scratch before her ears, and then Leo disappeared into the building. True to his word, he returned less than a minute later, Pippa-less.
“How did you convince your friend to let you borrow her?” I asked as we started down the street again. The city was lit up with traffic lights, car headlights, and tens of thousands of yellow windows. A red light moved behind a hazy cloud, indicating a plane on its way to Tullamarine airport.
“It wasn't hard to convince Tommy. I just asked,” Leo replied.
“Okay,” I said. “But wouldn't you have had to explain what you needed the dog for? It seems a bit sus to just say, ‘Hey, can I borrow your dog for an evening?’”
“I said that I was doing a grand gesture.”
