Page 93 of Never Too Late

He’s okay, everything's okay. He’s down the street. He’s just letting me know he’s okay.

“Hey, lover boy, guess who managed to get away from work so early?” a female voice shouts. And it’s a voice I’m familiar with.

Novah.

I turn in my seat, seeing Novah come into view awkwardly. “Oh, hey, Dax. Sorry. Where’s your brother?” she asks, not wanting to look at me, clearly feeling embarrassed. Understandable.

“Not here.” I reply dryly. “Lover boy?” I arch my brow, questioning.

“Oh yeah, it just slipped out. I was on the phone to a friend.” She awkwardly removes her reading glasses, wiping the lens on her cardigan to avoid giving me any eye contact.

“Sure,” I respond, turning back to the computer.

But as I start tapping on the keyboard, I start to feel doubtful of myself.

Did I come off as rude to Novah? If she’s as close to Ty as I think she is, has he told her? Does she know about me? And if she does, what does she know?

“I’ll go sit on the shop floor; I don’t want to intrude.”

“It’s fine, Novah, really. You can sit down here. Tyler should be back soon. He’s just gone for a coffee.” I offer her a smile.

If there is something going on between the two of them, like I think there is, I don’t want her to hate me.

“Actually, Novah. Would you be able to do something for me? I have a bouquet of flowers ordered at Bernie’s. I can’t go and collect it because Jae’s there right now. Would you be able to collect them for me?” I swing the chair around giving her my full attention.

She looks confused at first, but her face then softens. “Yeah, okay. Sure. If Tyler comes back, are you able to tell him –”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Thank you.”

Before I turn to smile, she’s already out the door and the guilt eats at me more.

Fortunately, the shop door opens not long after Novah goes out the back, with Tyler striding in with two coffee cups in hand.

“Here you go, Daxxy boy,” he says as he puts the paper coffee cup onto the table.

“Thanks, lover boy,” I tease.

He pulls back the coffee cup from his lips, choking from hearing the words I’ve just said, his face turning bright red. I don’t think I’ve seen him as embarrassed as this before and I can’t help but take a moment to soak in this new development.

He slowly takes a seat in his chair beside me, “D, we need to talk about something.” Quickly going back to the coffee, he was sipping.

I arch my brow at his confession. “Do you mean how you’re fucking Novah?”

He chokes again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I may not pick up on things others would but I'm not stupid, Tyler.”

He lowers the cup, placing it onto the side. “What? Of course you’re not. I never said you are,” he stumbles. “How did you know?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her, the way she looks at you, I think I’ve known for a while.”

His shoulders start to relax, no longer tensed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, D. I was confused. What I feel for – what me and Novah have is different to what I’ve had before.” His shoulders start to tense back up. I hear the uncomfortable undertone in his voice. I turn, giving him my full attention. “We both know I had no interest in relationships before. Everyone was just a silly fling to me. I didn’t have the time for anyone. But with her, it’s different.”

I can’t help but feel emotional at his confession. Tyler deserves this more than anyone I know. I’ve noticed the happiness she’s brought to him in such a short amount of time.

“And the boys?” I ask.

“They don’t know yet. We were waiting to tell you first. I just wanted to make sure I was certain of things between us. I never thought I wanted children, you know? It never crossed my mind. But those two boys? I’d give them the world just to see them smile.”

---