Home: Ky & Nick (Six Degrees Book 1)

by Sandy Smith

  That earned me a genuine laugh, and we said good night.

  Chapter Ten

  We spent the next week texting and talking but unable to find time to get together. After Nick had to pick up some extra meetings, our plans fell through the following weekend, and things had gotten hectic for me at work. I re-interviewed Aimee and Bailey’s uncle Jeff. And as much as it pained me to the centre of my soul to say it, I agreed with Grayson. There was a “vibe,” for want of a better term. Not exactly court-admissible evidence, but I knew we had something. I wasn’t sure if he had hurt the kids or knew more about their disappearance than he was letting on, but I felt uncomfortable in his presence.

  Every night without fail, Nick and I either texted or called to say goodnight. He was sweet and funny, and I was, well, me, so an idiot. Not that this should have come as news, but even when he was sweetly texting to ask how I was feeling, knowing I had been at work since three o’clock that morning or checking if I had eaten something and was looking after myself, I still managed to make a fool of myself.

  I decided to call just to hear his voice before I went to sleep, but it went straight through to message bank after only ringing once, even though we had been texting all of three minutes ago. I called again. Same result. Then my phone beeped with a text saying he couldn’t talk. For all of two seconds, I wondered where he could be on a Wednesday night at eleven PM. Where had he always been on a Wednesday night? The Subway Station. And because my brain worked at a slightly slower cadence than my texting fingers, I asked him.

  It’s Wednesday. Are you at Subway? Is that why you can’t talk?

  No response.

  Hello?

  No response.

  Fine. Goodnight.

  After taking my frustration out on my pillow, which wouldn’t stay in the exact shape I wanted, I stared at the ceiling. Eventually, my fatigue-soaked brain caught up. I reached for my phone again and stared at it for a moment before sending another text.

  Sorry. Ignore me, I’m tired. It’s none of my business where you are. Just tired. Not that makes it okay to be a dick. Sorry. Text me when you can.

  I stared at the screen for another ten minutes, but finally my eyes hurt too much from lack of sleep. I was reaching over to put my phone on the charger when it beeped at last.

  I was on a phone conference with my father and his lawyer. Not at Subway. Feel free to check with Ant. Goodnight.

  God, I was an idiot. Why the hell did he put up with me being a whiney arse when I was insecure? I might have been an idiot, but on the upside, I was a self-aware idiot. Then my phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Baby, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Seventy-two minutes talking to my father, and I feel like a six-year-old again. And behave like it, apparently.”

  “Seventy-two?” I asked sleepily. Simply hearing his voice made me relax.

  A quiet chuckle. “Yes, seventy-two minutes. I have the habit of looking at the phone each time I speak to him to see if it really did last twelve hours. But it only feels that way.”

  Quiet for a few seconds.

  “Are you still awake, baby?”

  “Mmm.”

  “Goodnight, baby. Call me tomorrow. Sweet dreams.”

  That Friday, I was wrapping up a bit of shopping for Mum’s birthday on my day off, and Nick texted me.

  I negotiated the bollocks out of them. Eric said he nearly came in his pants when they sent the contract. Probably TMI. But it means I’m only working a half day. I can be out of here by four. I want to celebrate. Dinner? Drinks?

  I chuckled and texted back.

  Love to. I’m in the city. Meet at your office at four.

  See you then. Everyone is out of the office. Eric and I just need to finish up.

  I walked into the hotel lobby just before four. They currently used a floor for offices, as there weren’t enough staff to justify getting a separate space, but they were discussing needing to do it soon, after growing so quickly.

  After speaking to reception and being directed to the correct floor, I was standing in the lobby area staring at a familiar name and face on the wall, when I heard a voice I hadn’t heard for nearly ten years. Little clueless Eric James was all grown up and looking damn good in a suit that probably cost more than my car. Definitely cost more than my car. He was walking across the lobby speaking on his phone, and as he hung up, he lifted his head to meet my eyes.

  Before he could react, I called out, “Hey, Beetle Dick, I thought this was supposed to be a classy hotel. How did they let someone like you in here?”

  Ignoring a crash of a glass and a loud bang as if a chair hit a wall, I continued, walking towards a smiling Eric. “I hear you had a bit of a premature celebration ejaculation earlier today. You probably want to see a doctor about that.”

  And right as I reached Eric and we threw our arms around each other, Nick came flying out of an open office door. He came to an abrupt halt once he saw us both laughing.

  “You’re still such an arsehole, lube boy,” Eric laughed as he patted me on the back.

  We hugged for another second and pulled away, smiling at each other, and Nick relaxed. “You two know each other?”

  I stepped back from Eric, and he turned and smiled sweetly at Nick. “Not really. We slept together a few years ago.”

  The colour drained from Nick’s face, and his expression tightened. His eyes darted between Eric and me.

  Before I could say anything, Eric continued. “Hold your horses, Nick, Jesus. What the hell is… ohh. This is… Ky is the guy you’ve been seeing? You never said his name. I was joking. Well, sort of. I really meant slept together, no sex. Nothing like that. Jesus.”

  Nick still hadn’t said anything, but he was glaring at Eric, so I jumped in. “Eric’s brother played touch football with me after uni, and when a group of us went to Noosa for the week, Eric came with him. There was some problem with the booking, and we ended up sharing a queen bedroom because there were no twins. He was an obnoxious entitled brat, so I wasn’t going anywhere.”

  Eric interrupted “Excuse me. What he meant was he was a dumb oaf too stupid to read the booking correctly and too stubborn to move elsewhere.”

  I continued. “So we both claimed we had the rights to use the bed and went out of our way to be as offensive and inconsiderate to each other as possible to make the other leave. So each night he hopped in that bed and hogged the doona, pulled at the sheets, and tried to be as disgusting as possible. But even something as nasty as fungus eventually grows on you. We went home a week later, and we haven’t seen each other since.”

  Nick finally found his voice. “Umm, not to harp on the point, but when the two of you shared that bed…”

  I walked up to Nick and kissed him quickly and lightly on the lips. “Your best friend is a disgusting, bed-hogging, filthy, fart-producing arse.”

  “That didn’t answer the question, exactly.”

  I tried not to laugh. Unsuccessfully. “No it didn’t, but I felt the need to say it. To answer your question, no, there was no touching of hands, faces, arses, or dicks.”

  Nick finally relaxed, and Eric accepted my invitation to join us for dinner. We all hopped in the elevator and headed back down to the hotel lobby. Eric was watching Nick with a goofy smile that I couldn’t quite decipher. When they noticed a heated whispered conversation in the office behind the reception desk, they both paused, and Eric excused himself to go and see what was going on.

  I studied the foyer as we waited for Eric, and Nick seemed to be studying me. The foyer was stunning. It had a simple design, but the more I looked, the more features I found. A man walked past and greeted Nick, shaking his hand with a smile and holding on a bit longer than I thought was strictly necessary for a casual greeting. Before I even realized, I reached out and put my hand on Nick’s lower back. I smiled sheepishly at him when he turned to me after the man walked away. I leaned in towards him and then caught myself, unsure what he was comfortable with,
given we were standing in his workplace.

  He pulled me close and kissed me on the lips, sweetly and slowly. When he moved away, he spoke softly. “I don’t care if I’m at work, at a club, or standing in front of my parents or the queen—don’t ever hesitate to kiss me if you want to. There will never be a time or a place I don’t want you to kiss me.”

  Humming my agreement, I drank in his warmth and the faint lingering smell of him before stepping back. Eric came back out from the office with another man and stopped, staring at Nick with a look of complete surprise.

  “What?” I asked.

  Eric shook his head. “Nothing, it’s nothing. I’ve never seen Nicholas look… I don’t know… happy.” Nick frowned at him. Eric apologised but asked for a raincheck on dinner. With sick leave and a last minute change to a function, they were short on bar staff for the evening. The only staff they had available was Clay, the regular bartender in the club bar, and a new guy on his first shift. After a lot of shuffling most of the problem had been sorted out and Eric had decided to tend the club bar himself with the new guy to prevent them having to close one of the bars.

  After more promises of a rain check, Nick grabbed my hand, and we headed out. We ended up grabbing a couple of drinks at Customs House Bar, sharing some chicken wings and sweet potato fries. We sat there for hours, drinking and talking.

  Nick leaned forward to wipe blue cheese sauce from the side of my mouth with his thumb before sucking it slowly, obviously putting on a show. I shifted a little awkwardly on my stool. Eventually, Nick stood and reached out his hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  It was pretty warm for September, and the sky was clear. I took his hand and stood. He leaned in and kissed me gently. To imagine I used to think of kisses as a polite introduction to the next step and not much more. I really was stupid. When he finally released my lips I sighed and touched my forehead to his. “Nick.”

  As we separated and started to walk towards the water, he rubbed his thumb absently against mine. “I have never liked any shortening of my name or nicknames.”

  Oh.

  He turned to me. “Stop that right now,” he ordered with a frown. “I know you. Let me finish what I was going to say. I never used to like it, but hearing you call me Nick, it’s different. I could hear you say it over and over again. And God, when you say it with a moan, it’s like throwing petrol on a campfire. It’s the best sound I have ever heard.”

  I wrapped my arm around him, drawing him in closer to my side. Ignoring the people bustling past us, we continued to walk and talk, enjoying the warm spring evening. And each other.

  He talked a little about the old beachfront property near Byron Bay that him and Eric had looked at. Eric’s vision was to turn it into an exclusive spa retreat. I talked a bit about friends at work and funny jobs.

  As we ventured further away from people, our conversation turned more personal. He asked more about my childhood, and I revealed a few stories about how hard Mum worked. How tired she always was, but also stories about how much fun I had with her. The games she played with me, the toys or activities she made out of scraps, like the cylinders from kitchen wrap or paper towels. I explained that she had left home with me as a newborn with the clothes on her back, her school bag and her walkman with one cassette in it. She had borrowed some clothes from some friends and done some couch surfing with friends until she had gotten a job and a room. Our worldly possessions at that time had consisted of a bag of clothes for the two of us, some nappies and her prized walkman.

  Eventually, we found ourselves at Observatory Hill, and we sat overlooking the harbor. The lights on the boats bobbed up and down as we watched a ferry pass by. We heard a train up on the bridge and then the sound falling away, and despite sitting in the middle of a city, it was peaceful.

  Nick cleared his throat, and I turned to meet his eyes. “About the phone call the other night…” His voice drifted off as he shifted.

  “I’m sorry about that. I was being an idiot. Even if you were at Subway, we haven’t discussed whether we are exclusive or not, so I was just being stupid” I conceded.

  He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. We’re still feeling our way here, and I guess even if you did know me well, it wouldn’t be much of a leap to think I would be out hooking up. But I…”

  He paused, and I waited while he got his thoughts together.

  “Club hook-ups have always been my normal. But that’s not what this is. It might be how we started, but I don’t want to be with anyone else. And I don’t want to share you.”

  I couldn’t help the smile pulling at my lips. I suspected it was the first time Nick had ever discussed being exclusive with anyone.

  “Good. I’m an only child too, so I never really learned to share, and I don’t intend to start now.”

  He gave a soft chuckle, and we looked back out over the water.

  Nick talked about a few of the places he had lived in through his childhood. Even though most of his childhood had been spent in England, I was fascinated to learn he had spent a few years in various European cities.

  “That’s what it is with your accent, then?” I asked. He looked confused. “It’s an English accent. Obviously. But it’s a little different.”

  “Ah. We did move around a bit, but also my father is American.” His answers were still always short when the topic of family came up.

  Instead, he talked about a few friends he made in different places, but they never stayed in touch for long after he moved on. His voice grew quieter when he spoke. “Eric and I should never have been friends. We don’t make sense, at all. He is boisterous and colourful. I am, well, not either of those things. He likes to make his decisions based on gut feelings and jumps in with two feet. I like to analyse and weigh up pros and cons. I know I overthink things, but that’s just how my brain works. But I guess the balance between us is what works. He knew how I felt about staying and putting down roots. Moving to Sydney with Eric was always supposed to be temporary. I promised him I would get him set up and get the processes in place. This is the longest I’ve ever stayed in one place. Eric isn’t quite as smooth as he thinks”. He paused and the small smile he offered with a shake of his head was warm like it always was when he spoke of Eric. “He has spent the past few years coming up with things that he couldn’t possibly do on his own. I know he doesn’t want to come out and ask me to stay because he thinks that wouldn’t be fair.”

  I asked him if he was planning on going back home, and he sighed.

  “I have no idea where home is,” he answered quietly, almost to himself. And I couldn’t think of anything sadder.

  After a deep breath, he sat up straighter and smiled, even though it seemed a little forced.

  “But Eric dragging me around Europe after uni was a far more interesting experience. Everywhere we went, he would make friends within ten minutes of walking into a bar. He had groups of girls giggling and fawning all over him, big macho guys clapping him on the back and buying him drinks, and middle-aged women wanting to adopt him. He just has that way with people. Combine that with his intelligence and his business sense no university could teach, and you can see why he’s so good at his job.” He was smiling fondly, a look I hadn’t seen on Nick other than when he talked about Eric. I wondered about their friendship, but I decided whatever happened in the past was just that—in the past.

  “I would love to see some of those places,” I said wistfully.

  He turned to face me. “Like where? If you could go anywhere, where would you choose?”

  “London, Paris, God, anywhere, everywhere… No, Italy. If I had to choose one, it would be Italy. Rome, Venice, Tuscany. Definitely Tuscany.”

  “Tuscany is stunning,” he agrees. “And Umbria. I kind of liked Umbria better, only because it is less crowded. But we should go to both, and you can decide.” He paused and then looked straight at me. “Do you ever think of looking for your dad? Is that something you might want to do?”

  I wiped at a
piece of grass on my jeans and looked back out at the water. “Honestly, no. He was never my dad, so I don’t have any interest in meeting him. He was some random guy my mum slept with. I don’t consider him anything to me. Italy just looks beautiful.” I felt a pang of insecurity, but I was pretty sure I hid it well.

  “What? What just happened then?” He asked, concern in his voice.

  I shook my head, about to say I was fine, but stopped. I smiled weakly at him. “Only me being me for a moment. I know not all your childhood memories are happy, and I’m not trying to belittle it. I’m really not. It’s just that… It’s just that every time I listen to you talk, everything sounds interesting and exciting. And well, I could count the interesting things about me on one hand. Probably with four or five fingers to spare. Sorry, that’s a bit self-deprecating, even for me.”

  I laughed nervously. I knew he would argue with me, so I continued. “Although to be fair, maybe your voice and that accent just make it sound that way. You’re probably boring as hell. I just get caught up listening to you. We should test that theory. Did you read Heart of Darkness at school? Most painful experience of my life. I should get you to read it to me and see if you can make even that sound interesting.”

  He smiled at me. “You really are a bloody idiot sometimes”

  And he leaned in slowly, giving me a chance to stop him if I wanted. But I really didn’t, so I leaned forward to meet him and kissed him lightly.

  He peppered kisses along my jaw, until he could whisper beside my ear. “You are interesting, you are sweet, you are amazing, you are sexy.” He punctuated each sentence with a light kiss just below my ear, strangely connected to the damn tingling feeling in my stomach. “And you are the first person I have ever met that has made me feel so completely enthralled.”

  My breath caught, my heart raced, my hands reached up to cup his face, and I kissed him. I kissed him until I couldn’t breathe. I kissed him until my lips were bruised. I kissed him until my head spun.