Page 13 of Cosy & Chill
A thousand pounds a month for rent.
He paid five hundred pounds to his parents every month, and most of that went straight to the off license at the corner. Leo paid nine hundred and fifty pounds for his place, so if they split the rent they could—
“Can good news make you feel like passing out?” he wondered.
Leo leaned against him ever so slightly and laughed. “I think so. Because Mr Tienfield revived me with tea. We have an hour before our appointment. Do you want to grab a quick sandwich?”
Finn thought that a grand idea. He felt quite hollow all of a sudden and fainting in front of the solicitor wouldn’t be the kind of impression he wanted to make.
Finn quizzed Leo relentlessly while they ate their sandwiches and drank their tea. He wanted to know everything the solicitor had said, and Leo got more and more excited with each question he answered, and every speculation they hashed out between them. Finn bathed in that enthusiasm. He let himself drift in it as if Leo’s love for what he was doing was a tide that washed him beyond his own limitations.
What were the odds that he’d meet a good-looking, charming guy in the pub, talk about knitting without being laughed at, feel comfortable enough to show him something he’d been dreaming about and didn’t think he could achieve, only for that guy to turn around and push him the last few steps he’d been too scared to take himself?
“You know,” he said when they were back on the street, headed towards their appointment at the store. “This isn’t something I would have ever done myself. I just don’t have the courage. Even if this doesn’t come off, or we decide that it isn’t for us, I’m grateful for your help. For giving me this. It feels like… a chance.”
“I should maybe have asked you first. It isn’t comfortable to have something like that sprung on you without warning, and I should know. But it felt right. If you want to know how I know, ask me some time about my grandma and her crazy plan.”
That sounded completely extraneous to the discussion they’d been having, but Finn filed it away. “One day, I will.”
