Page 27 of Jalen & Colby

My skin feels hot under his hand. I try not to squirm in my seat. “I don’t want to bother you,” I mumble.

He tilts his head and gives me a patient look. “That’s literally my job, Colby. I’m here to look after you and take care of you. It’s my pleasure.”

I inhale slowly and remind myself of the conversation I had with Jalen. Andreas is a Daddy. He might not specifically bemyDaddy, but he is one, nonetheless. And it makes him feel good to be in charge and look after other people and pay for things. He’s a gardener, and I’m a garden. I need to let him do some gardening.

“Thank you,” I say softly.

His expression is filled with such warm affection I get lost in it. The moment stretches out until the intercom chimes overhead and the head flight attendant starts talking to us about safety protocols.

I do my best to listen, but it’s difficult with Andreas’s hand still on mine. That’s far more interesting to focus on. But then he leans in to talk to Jalen, also taking his hand, and I wonder if I’m being selfish.

Should I let Andreas go so he can give all his attention to Jalen? That seems fair. I want them to be happy together. However, I’m not sure if I’m imagining it, but Andreas’s grip on me seems to be just tight enough that I can’t easily slip my hand away. So I decide to quit fretting over it and just let him hold on to us both.

We stay like that all throughout taxiing on the runway, the noisy takeoff, and into the sky. Once the seat belt signs go off, Andreas releases both of us and we begin the very long journey to the UK.

It’s actually pretty fun. I thought it would be boring, and don’t get me wrong, sometimes I find myself getting fidgety and frustrated. But the crew feed us a full meal as well as offer us snacks. There are so many films to watch, not to mention I’ve got a new romance book downloaded on my phone to read, and I even manage to get some sleep.

By the time we disembark in Singapore I do feel weird. There are a few shops we could go look at, but we focus on refilling our water bottles, and then Jalen makes me do a bunch of jumping jacks and stretches. I feel silly, and I know people are looking at us, but the movement really does help. Besides, all that matters is that Andreas joins in with us, so he obviously doesn’t think we’re being stupid.

For the second flight, I try and sleep as much as I can. Time has lost all meaning as we chase the sun around the sky. The crew feed us even more, and I put on an old Disney film that I know by heart. That helps me to doze off, and before I know it, we’re starting our descent into Heathrow.

Nerves flare, and I’m not even sure why. It’s really, very, completely too late to back out now as we touchdown on the tarmac. Not that I even want to. But the enormity of the situation is hitting me.

We’re not just taking a trip with Andreas. We’re meeting his family. AtChristmas.What if they think it’s weird that he’s brought two friends with him? What if they don’t like me? What if they don’t likeJalen?

That gets my blood pumping. I might not be very good at defending myself, but hell will freeze over before anyone can be mean to my best friend.

But then I look over at Andreas as he reaches over to rescue my bag from the overhead bin, and I make myself remember that his family are not my family. He’s excited about seeing them. They love him. They aren’t ashamed of him and they’re not trying to change who he is fundamentally as a person.

That gives me hope that they’ll at least be polite to me and Jalen. They’re being very kind by inviting us into their home for Christmas, after all.

I’m getting ahead of myself. First things first, we need to get off this plane and retrieve our luggage. I’m having high-key anxiety that my bag has gotten lost, and when Andreas notices me chewing on my thumbnail and asks what’s wrong, for once, I simply tell him. Because he said I could.

Sure enough, he soothes my worries right away.

“That’s very unlikely to happen,” he assures me. “But if it does, we packed all your most precious things into your carry-on, remember? Worst-case scenario, we can buy you substitutes while we wait for your luggage to come back to you. But like I said, you’ll probably be okay.”

Some of the tightness eases from around my chest, and I thank him. But I don’t fully breathe easy until I see it come through on the conveyor belt and it’s back in my hands.

Once we’ve all got our suitcases, Andreas leads us over to signs pointing toward the underground. “Oh, I-I thought we’d get a taxi,” I splutter. When I go into Sydney, I always study the metro map obsessively so I know exactly where I’m going. It didn’t even occur to me to look up the London system, as Andreas is a big fan of taxis back home.

But he grins and shakes his head at me. “Nah. Traffic’ll be a nightmare. I thought we’d take the Piccadilly Line into central, hop off at Piccadilly Circus, then walk up to see Carnaby Street. There are always amazing Christmas lights there, and the shops are really cool. We can grab some brunch, then after that, take the Vicky line from Oxford Circus down to Victoria Station. That’s where we’ll catch the train down to Brighton.”

“That sounds awesome,” Jalen says.

I can’t help but giggle at how he slurs his words. As predicted, he got hyper on the plane and hardly slept the entire journey. Now he’s dead on his feet, and Andreas has to keep steering him out of the way of people walking toward us.

“It does sound exciting,” I say. “Will we be all right with our suitcases?”

Andreas shrugs. “It’s London. It’s packed no matter what. Do you think you’ll be all right with yours for just a morning?” I nod eagerly, not wanting to spoil his fun plan. The way he smiles and says “Good boy” does very strange things to my insides indeed.

The tube is packed, and I’m glad Andreas buys us the correct tickets. There are escalators so it’s not so bad with our luggage, but also elevators, which helps even more. We spend about half an hour on the underground, and Jalen and I struggle to stay awake the whole time.

Soon enough, though, we’re ascending into the city above, and…Andreas was right. It’s very gray, cold, and wet. But also soalive.Everyone and everything is moving so fast, and there’s a kind of electricity in the air. It takes my breath away.

Carnaby Street is anything but gray. In fact, the gloomy weather means that we can still appreciate the lights, even though it’s daytime. Andreas says the designs change every year, but this time, the neon lights have been shaped to create a miniature universe with planets, asteroids, and shooting stars. Andreas tells us that in the past, there have been rainbows, an underwater scene, mirror balls, butterflies—all sorts.

I like the space scene. It feels appropriate, considering how we all met. Sort of like kismet.

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