Page 74 of One Day Like This (Excess All Areas 1)

“I brought you breakfast. Figured we haven’t spent much time together given we haven’t shared rooms on this trip.”

Matt rubbed a hand over his face and stepped out of the way as Ben stepped inside. “Cheers, mate,” Matt said, as he grabbed a T-shirt from his bag and pulled it over his head. “I was just thinking about food. I’m starving.”

“You should have come with us for a kebab after the gig.”

Matt grimaced. “Glad I didn’t. Too much to do and I was tired.”

“Not very rock ’n’ roll of you, Matt.”

He laughed as Ben handed him his breakfast sandwich. Bacon, eggs, sausage, and three sachets of HP sauce, just as he liked it. “God, this smells so good.” Once the brown sauce had been smeared all over the bun, he took a huge bite.

“Got you a double espresso. And two croissants if you’re still hungry.”

Matt took a sip of the piping hot coffee and winced as it burned the tip of his tongue. “What did you get up to last night?”

“Stuck around with Chaya to watch Stryker, then we went for a walk around the city for a bit. We got into a tense situation. A group of lads recognized me. Friendly at first, but they were all pissed. Started to take pictures, but it got rowdy. One of them knocked Chaya over. Shook her up a bit. And me, if I’m honest. First time something like that’s happened.”

“What did you do?”

“Picked her up. Told the lads to knock it off before I called the police. Ended up at a kebab place and brought them back here to eat. Wasn’t sure a kebab would work with Sukkot?”

“Sukkot?”

“Honestly, mate, not entirely sure. Sort of like a harvest. But Chaya’s dad has this sukkah, like this glamping setup, in the back garden they’re meant to eat in. Anyway, Chaya’s feeling remorse for breaking Shabbat.”

“Oh, the no-electrical-devices thing on Saturdays.” Chaya’s religious rules were almost as baffling as Ben and Chaya’s friendship. They were pretty much like an old married couple, except they’d never even kissed, and Ben clearly didn’t have a problem hooking up with other women.

“Yeah. Anyway, took her some breakfast, said I’d give her space to do her parsha, her weekly Torah reading, and thought I’d come eat with you. But I never thought there would come a time we’d be recognized like that. Like, when do we have to think about getting security? Or do we not have the same level of personal safety anymore.”

“It’s a good question.”

“I worry about Alex too. Not everyone sees him the way we do. I’d hate to think this current run of success makes him a target.”

“We have a band meeting next week. Let’s discuss it when we’ve had time to reflect. Can I ask you a personal question, though? Are you and Chaya dating in secret? Did Chaya sleep with you?”

Ben pulled a face as if he’d just asked the dumbest question in the world. “Nah. The couch in my room was a pull out.”

“How long have you known each other?”

“Fourteen years since I found her.”

Found her. It was such a funny term for what happened. “Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you hadn’t gone messing around in that warehouse?”

Ben ran his hand over his face. “It’s only since I became an adult I’ve had nightmares about it. As a kid, seeing her tied up felt like something out of a movie. Like being one of those kids inThe Gooniesor something. Now I’m older, I see her in that chair, crying, and I realised what Trevor Foster could have done to her. Scares the fucking shit out of me.”

Matt couldn’t help but think finding Chaya after she’d been abducted by a neighbour had left an irrevocable mark on both of their hearts. Chaya only ever felt safe with Ben, and Ben felt an unprecedented need to protect Chaya. As a pair, they were impenetrable, and Matt wondered what would happen when one of them found the person they wanted to spend the rest of their life with. A woman being mates with a guy wasn’t a big deal, but he didn’t know how he’d feel if Izabel had a male best friend who shared every facet of her life, including bedrooms.

Jealous.

Yeah, that’s what he’d feel.

“She didn’t deserve what happened to her then, and she didn’t deserve to be knocked over last night because of me. The last thing I want to do is put her at risk.”

Matt finished his breakfast sandwich before crushing the wrapper into a ball and lobbing it at the bin. He missed and Ben picked it up and dropped it in. He looked twice at the bin, then raised an eyebrow in Matt’s direction and then laughed. “You know, Alex is obsessed with the idea you have some chick in the wings. I called bullshit. Three condom wrappers and a lame excuse of leaving early last night because you had a ton of work to do says he might be onto something.”

Matt’s stomach tightened. He didn’t want to lie to Ben, but he had no choice. “Just a woman I’ve been chatting with.” It wasn’t an outright lie. He’d been chatting with Izabel, a lot.

“Did a lot more than chat by the looks of things.”

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