The Boys are Back in Town

The Boys are Back in Town: Twenty-Six

I only slept a few hours that night because I kept turning Jason's words over and over in my head. His note was innocent enough--I knew instinctively that he wasn't flirting with me. There was something he wanted to tell me, something he wasn't comfortable saying with Alek around.

But that wasn't all that kept me up. I didn't want to go to Jason and find something out from him without hearing it from Alek first. I trusted him, and he trusted me. It felt like I would be going behind his back if I approached Jason without letting him know about it.

My restlessness woke me up at six, an unreasonable hour when I was on spring break. I would regret the missed chance to sleep in once school started again in a few days.

I stretched, showered and changed into a clean pair of jeans and a faded gray t-shirt before ambling downstairs to make coffee. Once I had a cup in me, I left a note on the counter to let my parents know I would be at Alek's, before going to the garage to get my bike.

The morning was cool and refreshing, and the coffee cleared my head. I biked at a leisurely pace, enjoying the slight breeze. At the Dashwood house, the sun was just beginning to warm up the chilly kitchen. I opened a fresh bag of coffee beans and scooped some in the machine before I quietly climbed up the stairs and into Alek's room. His curtains were shut, though the windows were open. He stirred when I sat on the edge of his bed.

"Morning," I whispered.

He blinked sleepily and smiled. "Good morning."

"Do you want to sleep in?" I asked, lightly brushing his hair.

"No," he said, yawning. "What time is it?"

"Quarter to seven," I said, kissing him on the cheek. His hair was tousled from sleep, and his skin was slightly flushed. I couldn't help it. "I'm going to have coffee downstairs. Come join me when you're ready."

I was stirring some milk in my coffee when he came downstairs, dressed and wide awake. His smile was ear-to-ear when he leaned in to kiss me.

"What?" I asked, smiling back.

"I'm just happy you're here," he said, accepting a cup of coffee from me. Black, one sweetener.

"What do you mean? I'm always here."

Alek shrugged. "I want more breakfast dates with you. Just us."

"Me too," I agreed. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Alek shrugged and leaned his elbows on the counter. "I just want to spend time with you."

I laughed. "Me too. Wow, we're an old couple already."

He took my coffee cup and poured it into a canister. "Come on."

The only places that were open were a coffee shop near the university and the bakery. We bought croissants, bagels and a small pot of strawberry jam and took our breakfast to the park. The morning was still cool, but we sat on the grass under a shade and had a small picnic.

"You okay?" he asked, after a while. "You look a bit tired."

I nodded slightly. "I didn't sleep much. Thinking."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

In response, I grabbed the sleeve of his shirt with the tips of my fingers. It was an old habit from childhood. I would do it whenever I felt like I was going to say, ask, or do something that would upset him. Usually, I was right, and he knew what it meant whenever I did this.

Alek stiffened, his fingers automatically curling inward. I hesitated, knowing that the last time I did this was when I broke up with him before he left.

"No," I said immediately, my voice getting smaller. "I just... I don't think you'll like what I'm going to ask."

He relaxed slightly, worry creasing his brows. He grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. "Ask me."

"Don't get mad at him," I started. "But Jason told me yesterday that he thinks you don't want me to be alone with him. I noticed it too, but I thought it was because he would tell some kind of inappropriate story you didn't want me to hear. I mean, he's still likely to do that... but I feel like Jason thinks there's a different reason."

I paused, but Alek didn't speak. He was looking out toward the grass, but I knew he was listening. When he still didn't comment, I continued. "He gave me his local number, to call him. I think he wants to tell me something about you, or about your time in England..."

"Go ahead," he said softly, after a long pause.

"I just want to know if there's anything you want me to hear from you and not from Jason," I said. "I didn't want to go meet him behind your back."

Neither of us spoke after that, and there was a new kind of silence between us. Tense. Unwelcome. I had braced myself to hear the worst. It was partly why I couldn't sleep last night. I imaged Alek getting into trouble, or maybe seeing other women, or perhaps alienating his family. I didn't really know. I thought I knew him as well as anyone was capable of knowing another person, but in the end, I had missed two years of his life.

And, as if to prove that there really was no way anyone could ever know another inside and out, my best friend, who I've loved since childhood, said, "No, I can't imagine what Jason would want to say to you about me. There's nothing to tell."

Alek said all this without once looking at me. A tell. He was lying.