Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

Neil nodded. “I’ve left her messages unanswered for weeks. Ghosted her, basically. I kept telling myself I’d deal with her when I got home, but if I’m being honest, a part of me was just hoping the problem would go away. Then I read a message from her before my flight, asking for an explanation. She thinks she did something wrong and is beating herself up about it. I have a feeling I’ve really hurt her, and I just need to tell her the truth. It’s the right thing to do.”

“I guess,” I said, glancing at the floor.

“You think it’s a mistake meeting her, don’t you?” Neil said, worry in his voice.

“Not necessarily. It’s certainly ballsy.”

“No one’s ever called me ballsy before.” I brought my eyes back to him. There were stress lines on his forehead indicating he’d been fretting over this a lot.

“I think it’s brave. I certainly wouldn’t have the courage to do it,” I told him.

Neil ran a hand through his neatly combed hair. “I just need to draw a line under the whole thing, you know?”

“I completely get it,” I replied, pausing a moment before I asked, “So, do you not have feelings for her anymore?”

He looked away, some indecipherable emotion passing over his features. “Even if I did it wouldn’t matter. I can’t start a relationship with someone based on a lie this big.”

Hmm, that wasn’t exactly a straight answer. I reached out and took his hand into mine. I wanted to be supportive because he’d clearly agonised over this, but I couldn’t help voicing a concern. “What if she gets mad and decides to go public with the story?”

“If that happens, then so be it. It’ll be my fault anyway. My conscience won’t allow me to just ignore this.” He glanced down, staring at our interlocked fingers as though they fascinated him.

“Where are you meeting her?”

“At the café near the gym.”

“Isn’t that a little close to home?”

He scratched his head. “I don’t know … Yes, probably. I panicked when I messaged her the location, okay? Anyway, it’s done now.” He paused, eyeing me desperately. “Will you come?”

“Come with you to meet Annabelle?”

He nodded. “You don’t need to actually sit at the table while I talk to her. You could sit somewhere close by. I just think I’ll feel more confident facing her if someone’s there in my corner.”

I’ll always be in your corner.

“Okay, sure, I’ll come. That café makes incredible waffles, and I’ve been fiending for more.”

Neil smiled, falling silent as he exhaled a heavy breath. “Thank you. You’re a good friend.”

“And you’re a good person. You just made some unwise decisions and got yourself into a shitty situation. It happens. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“How do you know I’m beating myself up?” he asked, curious.

I reached up with the hand that wasn’t currently holding his and stroked a finger over the fine line between his eyebrows. “When you’re stressed, this line deepens.”

Neil’s expression turned thoughtful. “I’ve never noticed that.”

“That’s because you don’t look at your face as often as I do. I’ve been staring at it through a screen for weeks, and I can always tell when you’ve had a stressful day at work, depending on how deep this line is.”

“Makes sense,” he murmured, eyes following the movement of my hand as I lowered it. Several moments of quiet passed before he spoke. “Michaela was pleased to inform me that you told her about our friendship.” He raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Was I supposed to keep it a secret?” My tone was teasing as I tugged on his hand. “Are you ashamed of me, Neil?”

He tugged back, effectively plastering my chest to his front, and a soft, surprised gasp escaped me. An unexpected wave of arousal shot through me at the contact. “Never. Don’t ever think that.” His eyes flickered back and forth between mine, and my breathing stuttered.

“Okay,” I said, my voice uncharacteristically breathy now.

For the second time in however many minutes, we were locked in a stare-down. I yearned to know what he was thinking. There were secrets in his eyes that called to me. And I hadn’t been lying earlier; he really did smell good. It wasn’t just his fabric softener, either. Everyone had their own unique scent. It was hard to pick out the notes and determine what exactly Neil’s was made up of, but it was now ingrained in my memory. It caused a visceral reaction in me.

Footsteps sounded down the hallway, and Neil let go of my hand. He turned around swiftly and picked up his clipboard and pen. The door opened, and Michaela poked her head in. Her attention went from me to Neil, and it looked like she was attempting to suppress a grin.

“There you two are. Afric, I need your help out front.”

I cast Neil one last glance, my insides still all aflutter after the forceful way he’d tugged me close to him. He looked at me briefly, a certain brooding intensity about him that I hadn’t seen before. Then he returned his attention to his clipboard, and I followed Michaela out.

Two hours later, the bar was decorated, and everything was ready for the party. As people started to arrive, Neil appeared in front of me.