I’m glad giving up his dream was a step too far for Flynn, which makes me the worst person in the world, because it means I’m glad they split up, which is why I shouldn’t be sitting in the middle of a coffee shop, hugging him while he cries.
Not that he’s crying anymore. His shoulders aren't trembling, his breathing is calm, and his sobs havequieted. Yet he’s not pulling away, and I’m not letting go.
“We should do more revision,” he says.
“That doesn’t matter now.”
“Yes, it does. You’ve got one more final, and I’m going to help you ace it.”
I chuckle. “I don’t know about that.”
“I do. You’ve got this, Jimmy.” He sounds so sure, like he believes in me, and damn, it makes my heart tremble.
He pulls away. His eyes are bright and red-rimmed, his cheeks a little puffy. He picks up the middle pile of cards he made. “Ready?”
It’s time to let go. With a resigned sigh, I move back to my seat and finish the millionaire’s shortbread he bought me while he asks me questions. It was such a small gesture, yet one I appreciate. He must have remembered how much I love this sweet treat. The combination of chocolate, caramel, and shortbread is perfect.
The pile he’s picked is the one with questions I was a little hesitant about. Except this time around, I’m more confident with around half of them. The more I get right, the more he smiles, and the more vivid his eyes look. It’s wrong, but it spurs me on to dig deep into my memory so that I can get as many right as possible. As a result, he moves some of them to the ‘easy’ pile.
When we’ve finished that pile, we take anotherbreak. I coax him to eat his chocolate chip muffin while I get another round of drinks. He opts for a fruit smoothie, rather than another round of caffeine.
I return to the table to find him mixing the ‘easy’ pile into the other two. I give him a curious look, but don’t question his methods. It’s working so far.
We rinse and repeat throughout the morning. I realise that, having the questions I already know off by heart mixed in helps boost my confidence. I’m riding high on a burst of serotonin, which carries me through a more complicated question. Before I know it, it’s time to treat him to a toasted cheese sandwich as a thank you.
“This has been fun, thank you. Fuck, I never thought I’d describe revision as ‘fun,’” I say.
“Has?”
“You want to carry on?”
He shrugs. “If you want to. You might have had enough revision for one day.”
“I have, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hang out.” Does it? “We could do something on the list Angus made for you.”
He pulls the list out of his pocket and scans it. “I’ve never been on a water taxi before.”
“It’s not that long a ride, but it’s pretty. I’d do it with you if you want the company. The Royal Armouries is at the other end. It’s free, so it’s worth a look. Or we could wander back to town along the canal tow path.” I rub the back of my neck. “Or I can stop inserting myself into your afternoon.”
“No. It’s okay. Exploring would be more fun with company.”
I can’t help but grin.
“Angus was right, these are great sandwiches.”
“Angus is right about a lot of things.”
We finish lunch, then I pack the cards into my bag, keeping the piles separate, and we walk through the Dark Arches to the back of the railway station, and around to the canal, where the water taxi pickup point is. We sit on a covered bench overlooking the canal.
Flynn wrinkles his nose. “Wow. The smell here is… unique.”
“Is that a polite way of saying bad?”
“Yes.”
“Says the guy who lives and works on a farm. Cow muck stinks.”
“You get used to it. Everything else makes up for it.”
