Page 138 of Love You Like That (Excess All Areas 4)

Epilogue

December 22nd

Alex stood back and looked at the outside of the centre. It was painted with a giant graffiti mural in vibrant colours. The fact it irritated Matt made him chuckle. Not that the artwork offended him, but how it had come about. He’d mentioned to Izabel that he was thinking about what to do with the exterior. She’d mentioned it to a barber who volunteered at the shelter, a guy named Joe Lockwood, who went out of his way to help the homeless off the street of Manchester. He’d also been Matt’s rival for Iz.

He happened to know a talented young graffiti artist trying to get on their feet. The two of them had made a quick visit to a Northern Quarter alleyway where the young artist, Shay, was tagging. Impressed by the giant mural about the industrial landscape of Manchester intertwined with a giant ribbon to represent PRIDE they’d created, Alex had offered them a deal on the spot.

Job. Done.

Now the building was wrapped in colour.

Inside was the miracle. Once the tour had finished for the year, Alex had roped everyone in. Matt and Luke had grumbled about going back to their painting and decorating roots. His Uncle Allan, who ran a painting and decorating business, had offered a week of one of his teams. Every spare moment of every day, they were all there with the contractor, Ivan, and his team. Even Nan and his mum had helped, bringing lunches, and keeping the kettle ready to make tea.

They were rich enough to be able to afford someone else to do it all for them. But that wasn’t the point. It was Alex’s, which made it his family’s too.

Zoe had developed a music program so rich and full that he couldn’t believe it. She’d started a program for musical instrument donations and spoken to the label’s social media representative. That had yielded donations from manufacturers, other musicians, and fans. The university had agreed to work in partnership with them, sending students to do rotations with them teaching kids how to play.

And she’d hired two students to help run the programs on a day-to-day basis.

In-between, she’d completed a term, worked hard on papers, on practise, and crushed everything Boncaldo had thrown at her. She’d also started to teach Alex to read music. He’d been disinterested until she’d drawn a variation to the chorus of one of his songs on her stomach with Sharpie and made him play it on her keyboard. For incentive, she’d told him he couldn’t touch her naked body until he’d nailed it.

He chuckled as he remembered how hard he’d nailed her once he was done.

And they’d taken Ollie’s arrest, bail, and restraining order in their stride. They were still awaiting a trial date for the following year, but Zoe had been determined to not allow it to affect their lives.

He’d offered Shay a job helping with the arts program and let them sleep in the office until they’d found a place to stay with the salary Alex was paying them. And Alex had found a lead, a part-time art teacher who was almost as passionate about what he was trying to do as Zoe was.

Thanks to Ivan, and a local gardener called Toni, they had a green space outside. Short trees for shade. A plan for wild planting for bees and insects in the spring. And three small container beds to grow vegetables.

And the best thing…the volume of laughter coming from inside.

Hands crept around his waist. Hands he loved kissing and tying up in equal measure. One slid to the spot just above his heart, where the new ink of a pale pink peony bloomed.

“Hey, Rocky,” he signed. “Everything okay?”

She signed her reply, and it took him a minute to figure it out.

“You were good, but were worried about me?” he asked, checking he’d understood.

“Yes,” Zoe signed. “You’re missing the fun.”

He smiled at her and pointed towards the door. “Walk.”

“So, this year, you went viral, recorded your first album, and opened a creative centre for children who need it. What does next year bring?”

“You forgot,” he signed. “I fell in love.”

Zoe smiled. “You did.”

“You’re the best part of this year. But next year? It’s going to be our best year.”

“What makes you so certain?”

He tucked her hair behind her ear, her new hearing aids looked more like ear buds. They’d seen the specialist three weeks earlier, and the new hearing aids had arrived six days ago. Zoe said they sounded a little less like living in a tin can, reduced her tinnitus marginally, and looked cooler, but weren’t a marked improvement on her NHS ones.

She left them out altogether when she played, or when it was just the two of them at home.

Meanwhile, he’d gotten into the habit of signing every sentence. If he didn’t know the word, Zoe would lipread or show him. Since he’d started doing that, he’d improved quickly.

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