Page 32 of Dance With Me
Hi Joe, great to hear from you. Apology accepted and I’m sorry I snapped back at you. Of course, I want to be friends, that’s what we agreed. Hope your weekend was good. Had another run-in with stalker guy but I’ll fill you in tomorrow. See you at six, Seb.
A smiley face emoji ended the message.
Shit. What had happened now? Before he knew what he was doing, Joe was messaging him back.
What happened? I can’t wait until tomorrow. Are you OK?
Texting wasn’t going to cut it. He hit the call button.
Chapter Eighteen
Seb
“Hi, are you OK?” they both asked at the same time, although why Seb had answered the call, he didn’t know.
“Yeah, I’m good. You? Fucking stupid question; you’ve already said you’ve had a shit weekend. I’m sorry again that I was part of that. I never meant to upset you. I hope you know that. What happened?” Joe rambled on, and Seb just waited for him to finish.
“Hey, you’ve already apologised. I’m good with it, honest.” Seb couldn’t help wondering why Joe had said what he had on Friday, and it was on the tip of his tongue to ask, but now wasn’t the time. He felt a bit odd talking about going out with Dom again, knowing how Joe had reacted to him, but he’d just have to get over it. Dom was a big part of his life and was here to stay.
Seb explained what had happened, going out with Dom to the wine bar, the drink and the note. How the police had come round to talk to them both about it and had taken their statements and had the note checked for fingerprints. He also told him how they’d suggested he leave the city for a while.
“Is that what you want to do, Seb? Go away? Would that be easier for you? I could watch Rocco for you if you wanted. If you needed me to, that is.” Joe’s offer seemed sincere and Seb was struck with how much his feelings towards Joe were changing. He was thoughtful, kind, always willing to help.
“No, I’m not going anywhere. I’m not letting some arsehole chase me away, Joe. My life is here, my friends are here.” Seb was adamant on this. This person would not make him move away from his life here. As scared as he was, he couldn’t let the stalker win.
“Well, the offer is there if you change your mind,” Joe said quietly. “Whatever is best for you.”
“Thanks, Joe. That means a lot.” Seb was touched that Joe would offer to take the dog for him, but he was staying. Stalker be damned.
“Anyway, how was your weekend? What did you and Clare do?” Seb tried to lighten the mood. Things had gone sombre quite quickly.
“Well, we left the club shortly after you did, I think, and then when I woke Saturday morning, Clare had gone to a spa with her friends and was there until earlier today. So I haven’t seen her yet.” Seb heard Joe sigh.
“I went to see Hazel for a meal on Saturday evening and took her kids to the cinema. Went to my parents’ house yesterday for lunch. We do that every Sunday; I may have mentioned that to you. Honestly, a pretty normal weekend. How was yours, apart from Saturday obviously?”
Seb didn’t want to let Joe know how scared he’d been on Saturday. If Dom hadn’t been there, he would have probably lost it and crumbled more than he already had. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep putting on a brave face about it, but he didn’t need to bother Joe with that.
“It was quiet after the madness on Saturday. Dom stayed with me as Nat and Louis went back to his place in Manchester. We went over some admin business with the studio now that he’s going to be teaching there.”
The line went silent, Seb not quite sure where the conversation was going. “Are you coming tomorrow? Both of you?” he asked quietly.
“We’ll be there.” Joe chuckled. “I will be anyway. Clare’s supposed to meet me there.”
“I have new moves to show you; Natalia and Louis put some more together. Not too difficult, so you’ll easily manage. You’re doing so well, Joe.” Seb wanted to praise Joe. God knew he needed the confidence boost.
“How’s Rocco, is he doing OK with all this? I know dogs can sense these things.”
“He’s good, thanks, doing well. As soft as ever.” Seb waited to see what else Joe would say.
“He’s a great dog. I’d love one myself, but Clare’s allergic, unfortunately, so I couldn’t have one in the house. Maybe I could borrow Rocco and take him for a walk, now and again.” Joe asked.
“You can borrow him anytime you want to; he’ll never say no to a walk.” Seb grinned to himself.
“Do you mean that? Sometimes if Clare’s at work, I’m at a loose end. Pity we didn’t have this talk earlier; we could have taken him out.”
Seb couldn’t understand why things suddenly felt so awkward between them. When they’d met previously, conversation had flown easily. Not at all like the stilted exchange they were having now.
The ‘we’ in Joe’s sentence about taking him out had thrown him a little, and Seb’s mind moved to a place where he and Joe were together, holding hands whilst they walked Rocco along the river. Something he knew couldn’t be. This sobering thought made him question what they were doing. Once Joe married, he wouldn’t see Seb again. Maybe he could just enjoy this while it lasted then, even though he knew this would hurt him in the long run.
